There are multiple professional boundaries and best practices to consider in the professional role of the counselor. They include potential sticking points, such as the amount of time spent in session, telephone calls from clients between sessions, cancellation of appointments by client and counselor, and self-disclosure.
Consider the topic of self-disclosure can you summarize the therapeutic use of self-disclosure.
Discuss briefly a client situation where you inadvertently misused self-disclosure, as well as a situation where your self-disclosure strengthened the therapeutic relationship. What were the short-term outcomes for each of these situations? If you have not yet had these experiences, hypothesize what it would be like to use self-disclosure in a therapeutic setting.
Please use professional literature to support your views and writings. Reference your sources using standard APA guidelines.
Part 1: Maintaining Boundaries With Clients
A counselor's ability to maintain boundaries is vital to the success of the therapeutic process, because it allows the client to meet his or her goals and to foster independence and autonomy. Therapeutic boundaries also ensure that therapy is geared toward the client rather than the counselor's needs, gratification, or agendas. Appropriate therapeutic boundaries may also allow for the emergence of unfinished work on the part of the client, which can enrich and deepen the counseling. For the purpose of this discussion, boundaries will be defined as therapeutic limits that allow for the protection of the client's best interests (Luchner, Mirsalimi, Moser, & Jones, 2008).
The American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics historically addressed dual relationships in the area of therapeutic boundaries by stating that they should be completely avoided. But the Code was recently updated to say that some dual relationships are normative and can even enhance the therapeutic relationship. This is especially true in rural areas or certain cultural situations. In the ACA 2005 Code of Ethics a new standard, A.5.d., speaks to potentially beneficial interactions between counselors and clients that go beyond the traditional professional counseling relationship (Kocet, 2006).
Unhealthy boundaries between counselors and clients involve a wide array of situations, from sexual relationships to increased and therapeutically unnecessary phone calls between sessions. Although the ACA Code of Ethics does not address all of these specifically, there are some industry standards, and it is a worthwhile conversation to have in clinical supervision. Some potential ethical boundary considerations to reflect include whether or not, and if so, under what conditions, these may be appropriate:
• Extending the length of time for a session.
• Clients calling between sessions.
• Frequently canceling or rescheduling appointments by either the counselor or the client.
• Counselor self-disclosure.
• Giving a client your home phone number.
• Having 24/7 access.
The last two lead to a consideration of a policy of after-hours availability and coverage for emergencies.
Reflect on these areas and consider other areas for potentially unethical situations or boundary issues, and discuss these with your site supervisor and in group supervision with Capella faculty.
Part 2: Managing Professional and Personal Boundaries
Considerations are needed on how counselors manage their own professional and personal boundaries. Mismanaging the boundaries between client and counselor most certainly will have an impact on therapeutic effectiveness. So too does the mismanagement of a counselor's own personal and professional boundaries. Begin to assess the presence and strength of your boundaries by considering these questions:
• Do you talk to your family and friends using clinical jargon?
• Do you often try to solve the problems of your family and friends?
• Do you often provide diagnoses for people in your personal life? Perhaps you do not do this overtly. Consider, though, whether or not you mentally diagnose people in your personal life.
• Do you often think about your clients when you are on your off time?
• Do you have other interests and hobbies completely unrelated to the field of counseling that are fulfilling and enjoyable?
• (For future consideration) Do you persist in a professional environment that is invalidating or overwhelming in terms of expectations?
In describing professionals who successfully avoided burnout early in their careers, Cherniss (1995) discovered that those individuals proactively sought ways to overcome difficulties and were willing to risk leaving an environment when they could not find the necessary nurturance for their commitment. Although they had a high need for achievement, they set realistic goals and expectations.
In a qualitative study exploring a counselor's passion for the field, Dlugos and Friedlander (2001) discovered that all of the counselors included in the sample articulated the importance of attending to one's personal life as a necessary component in avoiding burnout and sustaining passion for their work as counselors. In addition, nearly all of the participants stated that if counselors pay inadequate attention to their personal lives, it will negatively influence their performance as counselors. The researchers also noted that the participants highlighted the importance of maintaining boundaries between work and personal life in maintaining passion for the field.