How to Maintain Professional Boundaries in Social Work

Thứ bảy - 27/04/2024 00:20
Maintaining professional boundaries in social work is essential to helping your clients and upholding the standards of your profession. Social work is a profession built on interpersonal interaction. Social work assumes that helping people...
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Maintaining professional boundaries in social work is essential to helping your clients and upholding the standards of your profession. Social work is a profession built on interpersonal interaction. Social work assumes that helping people who struggle with poverty, trauma, oppression, mental illness, or other disadvantages is necessary for a functioning society. Because social work often involves sustained interaction with individual clients, it is imperative that you establish professional boundaries with your clients.

Part 1
Part 1 of 4:

Establishing Rules of Contact

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Part 2
Part 2 of 4:

Demonstrating Professional Interpersonal Behavior

  1. Step 1 Establish clear physical boundaries, since they are extremely important to your work.
    [8] One of the most effective ways to establish clear professional boundaries is to let your behavior set the standard for your meetings with your client. It is important that you do not touch your client in any inappropriate way.
    • Inappropriate forms of touching might include hugging, caressing, or holding your client's hand. While you might think these gestures show compassion or care, it is possible they could make your client feel uncomfortable and as if he or she is in an exploitative dynamic.
    • Ask yourself if there is even the smallest possibility your client could be psychologically harmed by your touching. If yes, then avoid making physical contact with your client.
    • In some cases, hugging a client may be appropriate. For example, if a client asks for a hug during your last session together, then that would be appropriate.[9] If you work with children or the elderly, then hugging and hand holding may be appropriate sometimes as well.
    • Remember: boundaries aren't universal. Instead, they depend on the individual relationship. For instance, the boundaries you have with a spouse or child are much different than the relationship you'll have with a client.
    • Your relationship with someone should be confined to the appointments that you have set and the boundaries that you have set, and these should be consistent with all of your clients.[10]
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Part 3
Part 3 of 4:

Avoiding Dual Relationships

  1. Step 1 Watch for conflicts of interest.
    Dual relationships are relationships in which you interact with your client in a setting separate from your professional work.
    • If you are a social worker in a small community, there is a chance you might meet your client in other contexts, such as church, school or in another social setting. Try to limit contact with your client in these situations. The more time you spend with your client outside of a professional context, the greater the opportunity for a breach of professional boundaries.[12]
    • For example, if you attend the same church as your client, avoid joining the same volunteer committee or attending the same Bible study class as your client.
    • If you run into a client while in the gym or at the grocery store, then try to minimize the encounter. Be polite and professional but do not linger in a social capacity. You should not ignore your client, but do not start a social interaction unless your client approaches you. Do not approach your client.
    • Similarly, do not agree to do favors for your clients outside of a professional setting. Don't agree to give rides to your client or to babysit for your client. This can easily compromise professional boundaries.
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Part 4
Part 4 of 4:

Nurturing Your Non-Professional Life

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