Ethical Aspects Of Dual Relationships And Family Therapy

In the mental health field, dual relationships can often be damaging to both the client and the therapist. There are several situations where dual relationships, whether considered ethical or not, affect the course of treatment for the client, and the personal lives of therapists. Although some forms of dual or multiple relationships are unavoidable, engaging in a personal relationship between patient and client always involves the possibility of skewing therapeutic results. Dual relationships are defined as having relations with the client outside of therapy, and in most cases it is considered to be unethical. There are four main types of dual relationships including professional, social, business, and sexual. A professional dual relationship

There are many instances where a therapist’s career goals and aspirations are destroyed because their integrity and ethical judgment is questioned for entering into multiple relationships with clients. There are several true-life instances where dual relationships deter or even terminate a therapist’s career. For example, Hannah, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, began dating a client who was being treated at the program she worked. She tried to hide her relationship with the client until she was forced to come clean due to an unplanned pregnancy. The client’s ex-wife reported the dual relationship, and Hannah surrendered her license (Coy, Lambert & Miller, 2016). In Hannah’s case, her license was taken away but in other cases attaining a license after entering a dual relationship is not even a possibility like in Matt’s case. Matt, a professional counselor, was reported by his significant other for having a dual relationship with one of his clients. After the complaint was filed, Matt decided to pursue a romantic relationship with his client publicly, despite knowing the repercussions. Because of this, he had hearings in front of the licensing boards, and they did not let him pursue his license. The board granted him probation and let him keep his license as a counselor. He went on to marry his client and they have two

Some of these include exchanging emails and text with clients, accepting gifts or invitations, and having a friendship with a former client (Remer, 2012). An example of this grey area would be how Belinda, a case manager, worked with a client that was referred to the agency after she was released from prison. The client really appreciated the work that Belinda put into their therapeutic relationship that she wanted to give her a gift. She ended up choosing a bracelet worth $20. Belinda’s agency had a strict no-gifts policy, but Belinda knew her client would be offended if she did not accept the gift (Remer, 2012). Although the agency had a strict no-gifts policy, not accepting the gift would possibly hurt the client’s feelings and strain the therapy relationship. Compassion fatigue is a common occurrence within the therapeutic relationship, and can lead to instances where the therapist becomes too involved with their clients. A therapist’s home life can also influence how they handle relationships with clients as well. Compassion fatigue occurs when the therapist becomes overly invested in the client and the struggles they are going through to the point where the therapist is feeling a degree of secondary stress. Compassion fatigue not only affects the relationship between the client and