Dual relationships are some of the most challenging ethical issues that psychologists face in their careers. A dual relationship can be defined as the point when the primary role of a counselor is combined with another personal or professional relationship ( Cottone & Claus, 2000) . Dual relationships place the professionals at a possibility of breaching their ethics in having their work done. One of the strategies that can be used by the counselors to avoid the problems caused by the dual relationships is considering the necessity of the dual relationship between a therapist and a client. Since the relationships damage the professional link between the two parties, the therapists can avoid having a dual relationship ( Behnke, 2006) . For example, if a therapist has to attend to a friend outside work or a relative, he or she can recommend another therapist to them to avoid getting into a dual relationship and going against the ethical requirements of their work. The other strategy to manage the dual relationships in psychology is to establish professional boundaries between the client and the therapist in case the existence of dual relationships cannot be avoided ( Barnett, Behnke, Rosenthal, & Koocher, 2007) . The boundaries will reduce the exploitive characteristics of the dual relationships in professional counseling. Once either the therapists or the clients cross the boundaries, the dual relationship has to be terminated to avoid exploiting either party. The other strategy to manage dual relationships is to base the additional relationships in the context of therapy (Feldman, Seid, & Yalom, 2010). Basing them in the context of the therapy fortifies the boundaries between the therapist and the client and ensures that the dual relationship contributes towards the benefit of the client. Additionally, the therapists setting boundaries ensures that they intervene with their clients according to their needs. With the strategies at hand, the therapists will have a reduction in the ethical dilemmas related to the dual relationships in psychology.
References
Barnett, J. E., Behnke, S. H., Rosenthal, S. L., & Koocher, G. P. (2007). In Case of Ethical
Dilemma, Break Glass: Commentary on Ethical Decision Making in Practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice , 38 (1), 7a.
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Behnke, S. (2006). Psychological Ethics and National Security: The Position of the American
Psychological Association. European Psychologist , 11 (2), 153.
Cottone, R. R., & Claus, R. E. (2000). Ethical Decision‐making Models: A Review of the
Literature. Journal of Counseling & Development , 78 (3), 275-283.
Feldman, S., Seid, E. L., & Yalom, V. (2010). Legal and Ethical Issues for Mental Health Professionals: Volume II: Dual Relationships, Boundaries, Standards of Care and Termination. PsycEXTRA Dataset .
