Posted by judy1 on October 8, 2003, at 10:58:53
In reply to Re: Please read...Code of Ethics Therapy » HannahW, posted by Adia on October 7, 2003, at 23:45:13
as a former victim of boundary crossing by a therapist and part of the follow-up investigation by the APA, I do have some thoughts after many conversations regarding this act. transference is a normal part of a therapeutic relationship, and while not recognized nearly enough, counter-transference by the therapist is also part of it. as a client, talking about your feelings are valid and an important part of strengthening the therapeutic relationship. I have never been terminated or hurt in any way when discussing my feelings towards the numerous psycholgists/psychiatrists/ or social workers I have seen. The trouble starts when the therapist cannot control his/her counter-transference feelings. If he/she is able to recognize that these feelings exist then he/she needs to speak to a supervisor or other therapist on how to handle these feelings. Since the client always comes first, and if the therapist is unable to maintain good boundaries (there is nothing wrong with thoughts, I'm writing about inappropriate physical contact or seeing the client outside the office, etc.) then the therapist must refer the client to another therapist. I've seen nothing here (unless I missed it) about boundary crossing-e.g. the physical contact I experienced- just a lot of emotional feelings that I consider part of a good therapeutic relationship. I hope I didn't confuse things further, and these are strictly my experiences.
take care, judy
poster:judy1
thread:266267
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030925/msgs/266741.html