Professional Boundaries: Understanding Dual Relationships in Counseling

This presentation discusses the delicate legalities of private and professional relationships between counselors and their clients. It covers key concepts such as violation of professional boundaries, dual relationships, conflict of interest, ethical dilemmas, laws and interpretations of dual relations, and consequences of disciplinary actions.

Professional Boundaries
• The eternal dilemma
regarding dual relationships
concerns the delicate legalities
of private and professional
relationships between
counselors and their clients.
• The blurring or violation of
professional boundaries can
lead to non-compliance with
government laws and
subsequent complaints about
ethics’ violation, malpractice
lawsuits or even cancellation
of the counselors’ licenses.

• It is often the case, where, a
client or any third party can
lodge a complaint against a
counselor, causing serious
legal jeopardy.
• The burning issue of dual
relationship is hotly debated
by professionals. While it is
mostly discouraged,
sometimes, it can be
intended for being beneficial
to a client. The thin lines
between right or wrong
takes into account issues of
morality, values and legality.

• It is a matter of curiosity on why problems arise
due to dual relations, that is, the overlapping of
a private and a professional relationship?
Mostly, these relations are mismanaged and ill-
thought out.
• It is important to remember that in spite of the
nature of dual relationships or the time
encapsulated by it, the major issue concerns the
damage (actual or potential) done to the client,
either intentionally or not (Wheeler & Bertram,
2019).

Key Concepts
• Violation of Professional
boundaries is the major topic of
this chapter. The nature of the
workplace, gradually developing
dependencies or other causes
(social, parental, etc) might lead to
a dual relationship between a
client and his/her counselor.
• Dual relationships encompass a
personal relation between a
counselor and a client either
during or after their professional
relation.

Dual relationships can be of two types:
1. A non-professional acquaintance getting
converted into a professional one.
2. A professional relationship getting
converted into a non-professional one;
either romantic or of any other sort.
Dual or Multiple relationships can take place
between:
 A professional counselor and a
patient.
 A professor and a student.
 A researcher and a research subject.

• Conflict of interest is the essence of this
discussion, where, existing personal
relationships can jeopardize the treatment
of the client. The counselor might be
influenced and affected by the client which
might lead to an erroneous treatment. On
the other hand, the counselor can also
influence the client inappropriately, either
intentionally or not. These varying
situations ultimately hamper the best
interests of the client.

• An Ethical dilemma arises
when a professional counselor
is requested by friends,
colleagues or family members
for treatment. It is a very
common situation for
counselors and providing help
to loved ones is indeed a very
humane and natural thing to do.
However, as experts advise,
such short term informal
helping sessions should not
develop into long-term
professional relations.

• Defining such professional boundaries is
absolutely mandatory as the profession of
Counseling is different from that of a Doctor
or a Lawyer.
Blurring of such boundaries will most
probably lead to distortion of friendships
and will harm the ability of the counselors
in providing treatment.

Laws and interpretations of Dual
Relations
• It is essential for counselors to carefully go
through the respective State Laws regarding
dual or co-occurring relationships
concerning counselors and clients.
• The licensing boards’ regulations as well as
their recent verdicts must be read, so as to
understand how the board members are
interpreting the dual relationships.

• Counselors must be acquainted with the
Discussions of dual relationships for a
comprehensive understanding of the nuances
involved.

Consequences: Disciplinary
actions
• State licensing boards can initiate
disciplinary proceedings based on
complaints and if found guilty, the
counselors are subjected to punishments:
License revocation, either temporary or
permanent,
Fines and Penalties imposition,
Official reprimands and warnings, etc

Brainstorming: Probable
Dilemma
• Can the emotions or feelings of an individual
be supervised by an official Code of Ethics?

Brainstorming: Probable
Dilemma
• To what extent the inner psyche of the
counselor can be affected by the curtailment
of his feelings towards the client?

Brainstorming: Probable
Dilemma
• How can the Regulatory Boards maintain
neutrality while investigating alleged
misdemeanor against a counselor?

Reference
Wheeler, A. M., & Bertram, B. (2019). The
counselor and the law: A guide to legal and
ethical practice. John Wiley & Sons.