Maintaing Proffessional Boundaries

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Question 1: What are the issues around maintaining professional boundaries and dual relationships for natural medicine practitioners? Identify and assess the key issues for the practitioner raised by the case study. This part may be in dot points. In this situation Julia seems to need a friend. The issues here are: * What are boundaries? Due to the personal nature of a helping relationship there exists a code of ethics such as boundaries that helpers abide to. Boundaries help set a structure that protects the interest of the helper and the helpee (Brammer & MacDonald, p.152, 2003). * What are boundary crossings and is it appropriate? Boundary crossings are practices going away from the traditional behaviour of helpers (Guthiel & Gabbard, 1993). * Is boundary crossing a boundary violation? A boundary violation involves indecent, exploitive or unethical behaviour. Sexual relationships, for example, are always a boundary violation (Lazarus & Zur, 2002). * What is a dual relationship and is it wrong? A dual relationship is when the helper has another role outside the confines of the helping relationship such as a friend or a business partner (Brammer & MacDonald, 2003). Compare and contrast the views of the articles in relation to the issues raised by the case study. Briefly discuss these views using appropriate referencing. Ethical boundaries are benchmarks for the behaviour of helpers in helping relationships. Boundaries refer to the amount of self-disclosure by the therapist, physical contact, bartering and fees, the location and the length of sessions and contact outside of the office (Guthiel & Gabbard, 1993). The “Slippery Slope” argument believes that all boundary crossings inevitably lead to boundary violations. This approach is based on the 'snowball' dynamic which suggests that the giving of a simple gift is

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