The document describes several scenarios involving potential boundary issues between therapists and their clients: 1) A therapist sees a client at a bar with friends and must decide whether to stay and risk interacting with the client or leave to avoid a conflict of interest. 2) A client brings small gifts for their therapist at each session, which escalates to expensive gifts, raising concerns about maintaining professional boundaries. 3) A therapist considers accepting remodeling work in exchange for counseling services from a client, which could compromise the client relationship through a bartering agreement. 4) A video of a client sharing their personal story raises issues of maintaining client confidentiality and obtaining proper consent.

1. Team C
Miriam Calderon
Imelda Macias
Julia Mason
Lisset Zier
December 19th, 2013
Beatriz Zayas

2. 
In this case the client is at a bar with friends when the
caseworker comes in with some coworkers and sees her
client enjoying himself. The case worker can do two
things get out of the place before her client sees her or
stay and see what happens, but if she waits her client
may see her and invite her for a drink.

3. 
What should she do?
◦ Stay
◦ Leave and not have fun with coworkers
◦ Risk being seen by client and invited a drink.

4. In this situation a client and therapist are in a session and the client brings little
tokens every time she has a session, such as a cupcake, cookies, etc., (he
never eats the cookies but he never rejects them either). After a while, she
brings the therapist an expensive cologne. The therapist rejects the cologne
and tells the client that he cannot accept it. The client goes home and the next
session she bring the therapist an expensive watch.
From This
To This

5. 
From the beginning it was very innocent gifts or “tokens of
appreciation” with baked goods. The situation rapidly
escaladed to expensive colognes and watches. Was it wrong
from the therapist to take the baked goods or should he had
put a stop to it since the beginning?.

“Acceptance or rejection of a gift could strengthen or weaken a
patient-physician relationship. If the gift is a measure of the
giver’s gratitude, a refusal could be offensive. If a gift is an
attempt to secure preferential treatment, then a refusal may be
required to maintain the mutual respect and independent
judgement that are essential to the patient-physician
relationship. Thus, physicians need to think carefully and
exercise judgement when deciding whether to accept or refuse
a gift.” – Leonard J. Morse, M.D.

6. A therapist is offered to get her kitchen remodeled
labor work, in exchange of some counseling
services. Due to the fact that she is a single women
and she has known Frankie, her construction
worker, for quite a while and has done previous work
for her house in the past. She agrees, Frankie is in
extreme needs of services and is unable to pay
cash and has no medical coverage.

7. When services counseling services are being offered
usually they involve; trust, sensitive evaluations, social
influence, and the creation of some measure of
dependency, the potential for conflicts of interest and
untoward consequences always exist with bartering
agreements.
WORDS OF ADVICE
If at any moment one decides to accept a type of form of
payment in exchange of good for their services,
recommendations would be a written contract. Protecting
the clients welfare and the counselors services.

9. Video clip explains how the individual broke through
her problem of sexual abuse. The professional counselor
ask the client if she is ok to help others, and knowing she
will be telling others her story.
VIEWS
Professional took part of preparing the individual
using her confidentially. Individual can use this as a
strength to help others in battle of sexual abuse.

10. PROFFESSIONALS COUNSELORS ARE TO
PROVIDE PROPER BOUNDARIES WITHIN THE
CLIENTS/COUNSELOR RELATIONSHIP.
PROFESSIONAL JUDGEMENT
• NO BARTERING
• NO EXCEPTIONS EXCEPTING GIFTS
• KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL NO SOCIAL
RELATIONSHIPS
• AVIOD UNSUAL PHYSICAL CONTACT
•

11. Broken Trailer (2012). Retrieved December 18, 2013 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4icwx81xQQk
http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/code-medicalethics/10017a.pdf
Boundary Crossings and the Ethics of Multiple Role Relationships
by Gerald P. Koocher, Ph.D. and Patricia Keith‑Spiegel, Ph.D.
http://www.continuingedcourses.net/active/courses/course066.ph
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