Ethical standards required in the practice of psychotherapy are high. The clients and the therapists are required to conduct themselves in a particular manner so that the process of counseling is successful. The two groups should avoid certain activities that would otherwise derail the process of counseling and healing. With this in mind, boundaries on the interaction of the patient with the therapists should be developed. Boundaries in psychotherapy refer to matters of interaction with the client such as place, time, and length of sessions, bartering, physical touch, gifts, physical touch, and activities not related to work. With the extensive use of technology and the rise of usage of social sites on the internet, these boundaries have been extended to include the digital world recently too. This paper will delve into various situations that a therapist can find him/her in when dealing with the patients. It will also look at the possible and ethical ways of conduct (AATA, 2003, APA, 2002).

Vignette One:

Boundaries concerns that may arise about friendships and familial relationships between therapist and therapist and therapist and client are classified into two: Boundary violations and boundary crossings. Boundary violations will occur when the session will take advantage of the relationship. If a therapist makes use of the situation to give the advice that favors their side, then there is a boundary violation involved. Boundary violations are very harmful to any counseling session and man at times its perpetrators are arrested and charged. Boundary crossings, on the other hand, are rarely unethical; rather they are helpful in the sessions. Boundary crossings provide information that is vital to the counseling sessions (BBS, 2001).

This case appears as a non-sexual dual relationship because there is no sexual relationship. Moreover, the commencement of the sessions will not lead to any sexual relationship. From the nature of my friendship with the client’s brother, the relationship can further be characterized as a social dual relationship (Pope & Vasquez, 2007). The social relationships that are not sexual in nature are not classified as unethical. However, not all of these cases are clean. A look into the actions of some therapists’ gives a proof that there are situations where these relationships lead to violations.

The decision by my friend not to undertake his sister’s marriage counseling is a wise one since it would have been unethical. Moreover, the fact that he has a relationship with the clients means that his counsel would not have been objective but subjective. Personal relationships often harm the therapy sessions since the therapist is likely to be influenced by personal feelings. Conversely, it would have been better for him to refer her to another therapist who is not familiar with the family. My friendship with him would affect the way I impart my counsel.

In this case, there are issues of boundary violations because my relationship with my friend’s sister may make it seem that the advice I will be giving them will favor the sister. Not minding the fact that the advice may be excellent and fair to both the bride and the groom, the existence of a known relationship may make it seem that the session was unethical (Doverspike, 2003). On the other hand, boundary crossing on this case helps me to counsel the couple in the best way possible. The knowledge of their past and the freedom to express themselves courtesy of the knowledge of my friendship with the brother will make for a very successful session.

Since my friend stressed the fact that there are a few approved therapists in the vicinity and may be hard to find one, I would gladly take the job. First, as a favor for a fellow therapist who        realized that it is unethical to take the case himself. Secondly, the knowledge of their background and the trust accorded me would result in a fruitful therapy. However, because a situation of violation of the boundaries may arise, the presence of a supervisor is necessary. The supervisor will act as a witness to the session and report the proceedings whenever a complain   t may arise (Zur, 2007). Documentation of the counseling plan will ease the work and the risk of undertaking this task. The documentation will also absolve me of any unethical claims in the future.

Keeping of records is a requirement according to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This information is for use by the psychology association, investigations concerning violations, gauging the psychologist’s performance and referral uses (Jeffrey & Austin, 2007). Although the client and the therapist can decide on the amount of details put in the files, a particular amount of information is required. The nature of the relationship with this client will pose a tremendous challenge. For instance, in a situation where this client asks me to keep everything confidential as a favor for them, and then a situation will arise with the Psychological association if I agree with them. Conversely, if I choose not to agree with them, the couple will cite betrayal by a friend.

Moreover, a situation may arise in documentation and record keeping since record keeping guidelines provided by APA require that all documentation be in line with the Ethics Code and legal and regulatory requirements. Citing the nature of the relationship with the client may prove a problem in the future of my career since the session is documented. Moreover, record keeping is meant to look like a resume of the therapist. It gives the information on the performance of the therapist. In a situation where the counseling does not go according to plan, a boundary violation may be noted as the cause. Since this case may pose a problem in the future, I may decide to skip some details in my files, which is una cceptable, according   to documentation guidelines in Health Insurance Portabilit y and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Jeffrey & Austin, 2007).

Vignette Two:

According to psychological associations such as the American Psychological Association (APA), any sexual relationship with a client is prohibited. A prior, existing or a foreseeable sexual activity is considered when a psychologist takes a patient as his or her client. Moreover, any activity done with the client even if it is outside treatment boundaries is considered unethical. Many people deem that since these activities are not related to work they have no effect on the therapy itself. However, the associations classify any activity that may lead to exploitation as unethical, and this includes activities and meetings outside therapy. However, there are situations where the meeting is unavoidable or by pure coincidence. In such a situation, the client cannot be charged with a violation of boundaries.

The facts in this vignette are, the woman has an emotional problem and is seductive, we were involved in the same event, and we have had a talk, and

From the power dimension in a decision-making model, the power I have over her in class is reduced (Zur, 2007). This is because the probability of the students applying my teachings is small compared to psychotherapy where the client is one on one with a therapist. However, the longer the time in

Since the meeting with her in EAP program as well as the local college was purely coincidental and unavoidable, there are no ethical issues concerning this case. Moreover, the code of conduct for any therapist requires confidentiality. Another thing is that I chose to direct her to a different therapist. Therefore, the activity of teaching is ethical since I am not her therapist. The fact that her therapist is my friend, and I am her psychology tutor.

Since there is no prior knowledge of any relationship with the client, documentation and record keeping issues are not likely to occur. The fact that all the contacts with the young woman are all coincidental does not put me in any collision with the ethics of my practice. Moreover, in a class situation, I am dealing with several clients. Therefore, there is no sharing of personal information like the casein psychotherapy (Pope & Vasquez, 2007).

Vignette Three:

Several if not all ethical codes from several associations such as ACA, USABP, et cetera discourage bartering associated with therapy. There are two kinds of bartering, and that is goods and service bartering. Goods’ bartering is seen as a mild form of bartering and cannot bring any complication. This is because in the event, the client and the therapist disagree on a particular matter concerning the product, and it can be returned to the original owner. Moreover, there is by the APA, CAMFT, ACA, AATA, and NASW, it is not recommended for me to accept the deal, but considering his dire situation and the necessity of medical assistance, I would allow him to work on the repairs sin my office (ApA, 2013). He does not have to put in an enormous effort since he only requires a little work that would enable him have two sessions per month. Moreover, since he is Hispanic, his culture view bartering as part of life. It is not a big deal for them to be seen doing such work and therefore a complication is not likely to occur (Farber, 2006).

A complication may arise, but the satisfaction I will get in doing a favor for this man brings a great feeling. If the patient does not get medical assistance his condition may worsen, which means that I have broken the code of conduct of service to the patient.   When the bartering agreement is done with integrity, it will not amount to a violation of the ethics of conduct. The process will be done such that the cost of his services will be determined. Its cost will then be equated to the cost of the therapy session. An arrangement that is acceptable to him will then be used in putting out the method of payment (Faulkner & Faulkner, 1997)

A supervisor will be available in the sessions as well as when the agreement is signed since complications may arise in the future. Moreover, since service bartering is considered unethical because of the notion that the psychologists take advantage of their clients, it would be useful to have a witness that will vouch for the good nature of the arrangement (Farber & Sohn, 2007).

keeping (Cooper, 2007).

The ethical aspect of helping this man outweighs its unethical side simply because the process can be done in a thoughtful and sensitive manner. In addition, the patient needs as much help as he can get to avoid his condition deteriorating. Expectations of a problem occurring in the future should not be a deterrent in doing justice to a loyal client.

Vignette Four:

In a situation where the gifts worth is great, the situation may be taken as exploitation of the client (AAMFT, 2012).

In another aspect, activities undertaken with the client that are not related to the therapy are considered non-sexual dual relationships. These relationships are subject to scrutiny via laws that govern their occurrences. If the activity is known to undermine the psychological practice or exploit the client, then they are considered unethical (ACA, 2014).

The gift has an immense significance and value to the family and the deceased because it is an antique.   The gift is a sign of good will from the family due to years of service to the family. There is a great friendship between the family and I because I offer my service to the whole family. Moreover, the relationship that has lasted for over a decade has strengthened and created ties with the family. The reception of the gift would be ethical since it is neither exploitative nor has a hidden agenda considering that the family is black-American and view gifts as a sign of gratitude.

On the other hand, speaking at the memorial may institute misconduct in the view of people who have no record of the relationship with the family (BBS, 2003). Considering the culture of the black American, boundaries in therapy is not condoned. They view anybody in their service as one of their own and like being in contact with them. The event would be welcomed since I would interact with them this interaction will improve the relationship and the working experience with the family hence improving the service. In this case, boundary crossing will be agreed ethically since it will bring more good in the end. My decision-making will also be influenced by the cultural practices of my client and our personal relationships that have grown in stature with service over the years (Koocher, & Keith-Spiegel, 2008).

The presence of a gift in the whole arrangement may appear as an exploitative attempt on my part. My relationship with the clients may be deemed as exploitative because on top of attending their memorial, I was given a valuable gift. Therefore, a supervisor should be present in the memorial. This supervisor should be made aware of the past and present relationship with this family to avoid any misinterpretation of the situation. The supervisor will note the words in my speech and give it to any interested party whenever it is deemed necessary (Henry, 2007).

The documentation of the healing plan for the family will not change because the relationship with the family has existed for over ten years. The invitation to the memorial shows trust and respect of the family for me as a person and the service offered. This means that the treatment and counseling plan has been working well for the family. Therefore, no documentation issues will arise in this case. The fact that the family is black-American absolves me of any wrongdoing in the reception of the gift. It is a known fact that black-Americans are welcoming people. Thus, their event and gift were given in good faith. None of these activities put me bad light concerning my practice. Therefore, records will indicate the gift and the event. No recordkeeping issues will arise due to the gift and the event (Burkard et al., 2006).

Issues may arise when boundaries are involved. Gifts and invitation to events present a tricky situation when classifying if a situation is rated as a boundary violation or just a boundary crossing. Factors such as culture that influence boundaries and how to relate to them should be put in practice in the determination of the nature of these events (Hanson, 2005).

Conclusion

The determination of the nature of an event or situation should not be taken on face value. Several events, situations, and factors act as an influence of the intended actions. Boundaries are meant to affect the therapy sessions positively. However, blind application of these boundaries and the codes of conduct may derail the treatment of the clients. For instance, implementation of the codes may lead to the deterioration of a particular situation. A specific example is the case of the Hispanic man who had lost his job. Therefore, the codes and the boundaries should be thoroughly scrutinized before application.

CLICK BUTTON TO ORDER NOW