Individuals, being a social entity, maintain different kinds of relationships with other individuals. Such relationships can either be personal, professional, or social. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) maintains that social workers must develop a professional relationship with their clients, it cannot be avoided that other forms of connections may be formed especially outside the institution. It is imperative, however, that the social worker must know the limits and boundaries of their roles and relationships with their client. This is to ensure that emotions and personal affairs would not interfere with any professional decisions that must be made involving the client. In the case of the social worker Caylan Bruns and Samantha DeLucia, Bruns must learn to set the boundaries of her relationship with DeLucia as her social worker and a congregant.
A social worker should never force the client to commit or to share information during any stage of the counseling. However, the social worker can encourage and support the client to be more engaging. In the case of Bruns and DeLucia, the social worker can emphasize on the importance of sharing and verbalizing feelings during appointments because this can ensure the safety of the client herself but more of her children. Furthermore, the missed appointments must be adequately articulated to the client as far as the repercussions and implications that it might have on her general safety and welfare, along with her children.
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Running across a client outside of the agency should not be a significant event because these kinds of things are universal. Again, the social worker must be able to keep the boundaries of professional and personal relationships. It is natural to care for the client’s safety and wellbeing. However, the social worker must learn to understand that the client must make their personal decisions. Unless there is an evident risk or threat to the client’s wellbeing, the social worker must respect these boundaries.
Social workers must be aware that every individual is unique, and every behavior is a response to a particular stimulus depending on the person’s life experiences. With this principle in mind, the social worker cannot expect that all individuals will have a typical behavior, nor will they come up with a normal reaction or response. Respecting the individual’s decisions and practice is essential in understanding and establishing a positive rapport with the client.
