Dual Relationships.

Abstract

Dual RelationshipsT he term dual relationship in psychotherapy refers to any situation in which multiple roles exist between a therapist and a client (Bennett, Bryant, VandenBos, & Greenwood, 1990; Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 1998; Pope & Vasquez, 2001). This book uses the more popular term dual relationship to discuss dual and multiple relationships. Dual relationships can be social-communal (when a client is also a friend, social acquaintance, fellow congregation member, or works at the store where the therapist shops), sexual (when a client is also a lover), business (when a client is also a business partner), professional (when a client is also a professional colleague), or familial (when a client is also a family member).It is important to differentiate between boundary crossings such as therapeutic touch, clinically driven self-disclosure, home visits, and gift exchanges, which do not entail a secondary relationship and those associations that involve dual relationships. Therapists in the former situations operate exclusively in their clinical capacity and, therefore, these situations are not considered dual relationships. For the same reasons, attending a client's wedding or self-disclosing for clinical reasons rather than social ones does not constitute social or other dual relationships. However, if selfdisclosure or attending the client's wedding takes place in the course of a social relationship or as part of a community relationship between the therapist and client, it constitutes a dual relationship (Lazarus & Zur, 2002). Incidental, chance encounters 21

The role of positive ethics and virtues in the context of sport and performance psychology service delivery.

“…Power differentials have been identified as playing an important role in the exploitation of clients (Kitchener, 2000; Zur, 2002). Although power differentials are an inevitable part of SPP practice, Zur and Lazarus (2002) argued that multiple relationships and familiarity actually diminish the likelihood of exploitation by reducing perceived power differentials. We would add that the presence of SPP consultants in performance environments increases their “humanness” and provides more opportunities for role modeling (Helbok, 2003).…”

Psychotherapist self-disclosure: Ethical and clinical considerations.

“…All boundary incursions are not necessarily inappropriate or harmful. To avoid all boundaries out of a fear of violating them would likely lead to a very sterile psychotherapeutic environment (Zur & Lazarus, 2002). For example, to never touch a client under any circumstances, to never extend a session beyond the agreed upon time, or to never share any personal information with a client, may be not only counterproductive, but could even be harmful to the psychotherapeutic relationship and to the client.…”

Provision of mental health services at the detention hospital in Guantanamo Bay.

“…Military psychologists and psychiatrists are well acquainted with the notion of dual or mixed agency, the simultaneous obligation to two or more entities. From the first day of work, the responsibility for both the military patient and the Department of Defense is omnipresent (see Zur & Gonzalez, 2002; Howe, 2003b). Treating the detainees of GTMO is no different.…”