A Re-Visioning of Boundaries in Professional Helping Relationships: Exploring Other Metaphors

Using Friendship to Build Professional Family Work Relationships where Child Neglect is an Issue: Worker Perceptions

“…They create a sense of assuredness for workers regarding appropriate ways of relating with clients (Austin, Bergum, Nuttgens, & Peternelji-Taylor, 2006). Boundaries also keep the focus on the professional purpose of the relationship (Doel, 2010), and help to mitigate issues of power imbalance between participants (Austin, et al, 2006).…”

“…Boundaries also keep the focus on the professional purpose of the relationship (Doel, 2010), and help to mitigate issues of power imbalance between participants (Austin, et al, 2006).…”

“…These proposed an idea of professionalism that consisted of workers engaging with clients in egalitarian ways, rather than as "expert" professionals (Doel, 2010;Green, et al, 2006;Ruch, 2005). More recently authors from these perspectives have conceptualised ways of negotiating professional relationships using metaphors such as "a stretchy piece of elastic" (Green, et al, 2006, p. 450), and a neutral "territory" (Austin, et al, 2006). These authors, and others, challenge the discourse of professionalism that values managerialist ideas of practice, and tries to limit organisational and worker risk by reducing opportunities for professional discretion (Cooper, 2010;Doel, 2010;Freud & Krug, 2002;Green, et al, 2006;Maidment, 2006).…”

“…This involves appropriate use of self, for example gift giving (Maidment, 2006), self disclosure, and even, on occasion, physical touch between workers and clients (Maidment, 2006;Turney, 2010). However, while the effectiveness of professional relationships may be improved by friendship-like characteristics, client outcomes must remain the priority (Austin, et al, 2006;Doel, 2010).…”

“…While softening of notions of the need for rigid relationship boundaries has occurred in some professional codes of ethics (Austin, et al, 2006), other codes and policies for practice have not decoupled these ideas (Doel, 2010;Freud & Krug, 2002;Maidment, 2006).…”