Blog Post 3: Social Work Boundary Issues in the Digital Age:
I chose case study #3 because my mind went directly to self-disclosure and how this could become very problematic. My concern is that how social workers share some personal information in a public space. While self-disclosure can be therapeutic in some contexts, doing so outside of a clinical setting, especially in a group where potential clients may be present can complicate future therapeutic boundaries. Engaging in advocacy and personal sharing on social media can expose the social worker to privacy risks, especially if clients or potential clients can easily find and interpret personal information. Reamer consistently emphasizes that digital ethics require heightened awareness. Social workers must treat online interactions with the same ethical scrutiny as in person ones. I think there should be three responses Supervision, Referral option, and social media policy. First, with this case the social worker should consult with her supervisor. Secondly, if concerns about boundaries arise the social worker should refer to the individual to another qualified clinician. Lastly, the social worker should work on developing a personal or professional social media policy.
I selected this dynamic because I think its very important to set boundaries when building a professional relationship. I know someone who was in a very similar situation. I have a close friend who’s an awesome clinician. He was very selected about his female patients. He would often share that a clinician setting boundaries was a very important part of his role. He was counseling a adult female who instantly found him attractive but did not say so until 4 weeks into their sessions. My friend immediately referred her to another qualified social worker. article “Therapy-patient romance, sexual misconduct and boundary violation: A psychological and legal exploration” This article explores therapist-patient relationships. These types of relationships are considered unethical, immoral, and may result in legal actions. The landmark cases of the late 1960s and early 1970s involving female patients who publicized this issue and took legal action against their abusive therapists are discussed. Most professionals believe that clients are damaged in these cases, even if they initiated romantic or sexual activity with their therapists.
It’s very important to set boundaries, it sets clear expectations around online interactions, such as friend request, comments, and direct messages. Setting boundaries also helps prevent dual relationships or inappropriate disclosure that could compromise the therapeutic alliance. Social medical policy also helps you to maintain professionalism. It ensures that the social worker’s advocacy, opinions, or personal disclosures online don’t unintentionally the therapeutic alliance. I think this strategy would be very effective because it would keep a lot people of trouble.
References
(Barglow, 2005; Farber, 2006; Knox & Hill, 2003; Roberts, 2005; Stricker & Fisher, 1990)
Brodsky, A. M. (1986). The distressed psychologist: Sexual intimacies and exploitation.
In R. R. Kilburg, P. E. Nathan, & R. W. Thoreson (Eds.), Professionals in distress:
Issues, syndromes, and solutions in psychology (pp. 153-171). American
Psychological Association.
Celenza, A. (2007). Sexual boundary violations: Therapeutic, supervisory, and academic
contexts. Aronson.
Hi! You brought up an important point about clinicians needing to set boundaries early, like in the example you gave with your friend. Even self disclosure with good intentions can possibly open the door to blurred boundaries, if not handled carefully. That said, I do think that boundaries can be harder to maintain online, so a social media policy is a good way to set expectations upfront and prevent misunderstanding before they arise.
Being in recovery myself, this one really stood out to me because I’ve worried about what it would mean if a client came across something I shared in an online support group. It could easily blur boundaries and make things more complicated in the therapeutic relationship.
I also like the three responses you suggested: supervision, referral, and a social media policy. Supervision especially feels important to help process both the personal and professional sides of situations like this. And I agree, having a clear policy up front sets expectations and keeps the focus on the client while also protecting the social worker.
Darcy,
While I agree with your main assumption for answer 1, I think this example, raises some interesting and slightly different questions. The clinician did not engage in clinical services for herself in an online format – often very similarly to the way we serve clients. That online privacy was violated. I thought this was an interesting example, because I would immediately wonder what the clinician is doing who is running the group the in which the social worker was participating. Why wasn’t there privacy protection there? Many clinicians as well as social workers in other settings, simply don’t engage in any online activity. period. That raises another whole level of questions for me in terms of access to services for professionals.
In terms of responses once the boundary issues have occurred, your suggestions make sense. Often a clinical social worker providing services online doesn’t have a regular supervisor unless they pay for clinical supervision. In most cases, they are required to do that in the beginning to receive licensure or certification. And a media policy is a good idea, because it forces the social work clinician to deal with these issues before they happen.
The National Association of Social Workers utilizes a process called the Committee on Inquiry. If any client believes they have been harmed by inappropriate advances/relationships with their therapist, they file with the association and the complaint goes through this process. As the Deputy ED of NASW, I was directly involved in these cases. There is a review process by the Committee on Inquiry, and then there is a decisions regarding the social worker’s licensure/certification. I will tell you that these cases are difficult to review. Yes, in every case the client has suffered harm. Our job was to determine the degree and an appropriate response. I was surprised to read the social worker’s responses to the complaints, as they felt they should try to “justify’” their behavior. My only reason for discussing this is to say that as soon as a social worker starts to justify behavior that crosses boundaries, they are in trouble. The problem is that initially it doesn’t seem so bad. It is so important that anyone in a clinical practice have REGULAR, ONGOING, CLINICAL SUPERISION. Anyone can slip into a problem even when they may not realize it.
Social media policies are critical, but not as easy to develop as we might think. I may try to have some examples of policies for you all before the end of the semester.
Good job.
Dr P