The Importance Of Dual Relationships

Ethical dilemmas may arise during the course of a human service professional’s time with the client. The difficulty in finding a resolution to an ethical dilemma depends on the human service professional’s ethical practice and personal belief system. I believe that I would have little difficulty avoiding a dual relationship. My personal belief system tells me that a dual relationship creates a conflict of interest between the human service professional and the client. It leaves the door open for exploitation between both parties. It is a very fine line to walk when trying to gain the trust of the client. However, the main objective is to respect the integrity of the client and avoid any activities that could open the door to an intimate relationship that is unprofessional. I had an experience where the client’s sister was interested in me and wanted to know me in a way that was unprofessional. Ethically, I knew it was wrong and because of my personal belief I chose not to entertain her. Then, I notified my supervisor. An ethical dilemma that would be difficult for me to handle would be when a spouse shares information in confidentiality during marriage counseling, but does not want the other spouse to know. If I am counseling a husband and wife,

In the video, Ajia Meux spoke about a staff member who was not acting in a professional capacity.  The dual relationship the staff had with the client though considered non-sexual, affected her professional judgement. For example, the staff was more committed to promoting the well-being of client by unethically violating boundaries, in which she invited him to reside at her home, versus providing resources and assistance or seeking consultation.  The staff assumed multiple roles in her client’s life such as social worker, caregiver, friend and family. Hence, we see a conflict between the staff personal values, the client's needs and her professional obligation. This is also considered boundary violation as the client initially did not want to reside with the staff, this also appears to be an unintentional coercion. The NASW Code of Ethics caution again dual relationship specifically,

To have good ethical practice within counselling it is important that there are boundaries and contracts in place that are agreed to and understood by both the counsellor and the client.

To have good ethical practice within counselling it is important that there are boundaries and contracts in place that are agreed to and understood by both the counsellor and the client.

In conclusion there are ways to maintain the healthy relationship with your client. No matter when the dual relationship may occur, before during or after, it should be avoided at all cost if it jeopardizes the

The purpose of this study was to examine and understand the types of activities viewed as either ethical or unethical by psychologists practicing in different settings and orientation. Psychologists from the district of Hilo, Hawaii completed questionnaire and survey concerning the behaviors and acts that lead practitioners to engage in dual roles with client. Measures included demographic questionnaire and the Therapeutic Practices Survey. The participants rated the degree or level to which each behavior or act was ethical. A majority believed dual role behaviors to be unethical under most conditions and some reported that they have rarely or never engage in such behaviors. The profession and practice setting did not vary among terms of involvements, which includes incidental, social/financial, and dual roles. A review of previous studies and literature assisted in revealing the nature of relationships, ethical guidelines provided, and limits of boundaries for relationships. This study offers data to support the need for awareness of activities and behaviors leading to dual roles and the settings of practitioners most at risk.

In the mental health field, dual relationships can often be damaging to both the client and the therapist. There are several situations where dual relationships, whether considered ethical or not, affect the course of treatment for the client, and the personal lives of therapists. Although some forms of dual or multiple relationships are unavoidable, engaging in a personal relationship between patient and client always involves the possibility of skewing therapeutic results. Dual relationships are defined as having relations with the client outside of therapy, and in most cases it is considered to be unethical. There are four main types of dual relationships including professional, social, business, and sexual. A professional dual

Professional boundaries, in human services, are essential to helping clients and upholding the standards of the profession. Human service professionals provide several different services and are often faced with ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas are a major reason professional boundaries are established as they protect both the helper and the individual seeking help. Boundaries are not just rules that we enforce with clients, they are essentially an understanding of how we interact with people, both, professionally and personally. Boundaries are crucial if you want to have an effective relationship with the individual you are helping. Professional boundaries set the structure of the relationship and provide a framework in which you will

Anne is shown to be more attracted to Steven than her husband. "He was erect, tall, square shouldered. His hair was dark and trim, his young lips curved soft and full. While John, set, heavy howled, and stooped. " The way Ann describes Steven demonstrates the way she compared the physical appearances of Steven and John.

Geyer (1994) defines dual relationships as occurring when a mental health practitioner, “relates to a client in roles other than that of a mental health practitioner outside the therapeutic context” (p.187). Areas outside of context may include church, social gatherings, and organized events to name a few. The term dual relationship is interchangeably used with multiple relationships or nonprofessional relations. Corey et al. (2011) further defines this role as a professional who assumes multiple, two or more, roles at the same time with a client. The following paper will look to address a literature review of dual relationships along with a review of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapist (CAMFT) and American Counseling Association (ACA) ethics codes regarding the topic. I will further provide personal reflections and values as they relate to dual relationships. In closing I will provide an ethical resolution to a hypothetical case and provide final thoughts.

Most major professional codes of ethics have a policy or rule against dual relationships (Gottlieb, 1993). Dual relationships exist when a professional acts at the same time or sequentially in two roles (Gottlieb, 1993). Through the course of this paper, the concept of dual relationships will be examined. Ethical issues with dual relationships will be explained as well as the clarification and analyzation of a specific dual relationship. Not to mention the explanation of challenges presented by boundary issues in professional psychology.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an ethical dilemma as a problem where a person has to choose between a moral and an immoral act. Attorneys come into contact daily which involves the attorney-client relationships. The attorney-client privilege is a legal privilege that works to keep communications between a lawyer and his/her client secret (silence is golden). The privilege is a legal doctrine that protects confidential information, the contents and actions related to the privileged communication must preserve the integrity of the attorney-client privilege. This paper presents the ethical dilemmas of the attorney-client privileges, trust and the importance of adequate closure in attorney-client relationships.

Dual relationships occur when a practitioner is in a professional role with a client as well as taking on another role outside the clinic with the client. The professional needs to assess the risk in the relationship and whether both the practitioner and the client can differentiate between a boundary crossing and a boundary violation. In rural area’s a dual relationship may be unavoidable, the article discuses that the practitioner may have been chosen because of the prior relationship, and that some form of prior relationship may even be a prerequisite for the development of trust and respect in a small community. However, Zur also writes about the “Slippery Slope Effect” in which that all boundary crossings eventually lead to sexual relationships and boundary violations. The author then notes that the slippery slope effect is an unreasonable link and adds that when thinking of crossing a boundary the professional needs to consider the welfare of the client and benefits to treatments, whilst avoiding harm or exploitation and to respect the client’s autonomy (Zur 2004, pp27-32).

For instance, both lawyers and accountants have agreed on profession-specific codes of professional conduct, and physicians still frequently take the Hippocratic oath. Regarding management consultants the professional associations have formulated different sets of ethical rules. The contents of the individual codes either specify what professional conduct is or they indicate what cannot be considered as professional conduct. However, it is also obvious that professional rules only serve as overall ethical guidelines. The consequence of this is that the professional when practising is exposed to several more specific ethical issues for which there is no explicit or written solution.

When discussing the importance of professional boundaries in mental health work, most people think first of relationships between psychotherapists and clients. However, similar boundary considerations are relevant for professor–student relationships, supervisor–supervisee relationships, consultant–consultee relationships, and researcher–participant relationships. Although different dynamics are at play, the relationships psychologists have with each other, with other professionals, and with the general public have boundaries that warrant ethical consideration as well. The American Psychological Association (APA) offers some guidance. The APA Ethics Code says, in Standard 7.07: "Psychologists do not engage in sexual relationships with