Boundary Issues in Counselling

Boundary Issues
Confidentiality and Supervision
10/21/2013
Gary Carter
560 words |

This essay shall discuss the relevance of boundary issues in counselling.   Boundary issues can be defined as the relational framework within which the counsellor and client work together.   It is these boundaries that make it transparent to the client the limitations of the counsellor and the counselling process, In this way, boundaries are a safety net, a way of preventing harm to clients because rules and roles are clearly defined and therefore expectations can be met. This essay shall discuss confidentiality and supervision and there relevance in counselling.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality in counselling is an important requirement for any client coming to see a psychologist or counsellor. Psychologists and counsellors are bound by professional ethics against which the client’s story, their identity and any other information is protected. A client understandably needs to know that their information and disclosures will be confidential, particularly when their secrets, if known outside of their family or close circle, would have a detrimental effect on themselves or others. The client counsellor relationship is built on trust so confidentiality plays a key role because if the client fells safe and can trust their counsellor they are more likely to disclose information/issues/problems which will in turn help the client deal with these issues.
Confidentiality is extremely important for trusting and effective counselling practice (Corey, 2009), however there will be certain situations where confidentiality may need to be breached to ensure the safety of the client or community.   It relates to information about abuse of minors, criminal activity and planned injury to others. It also relates to injury to the client. If the psychologist believes that their client is, for example, at serious risk of suicide, they have a duty of care and an ethical requirement to provide safety...