When training as a counselor, one of the first and most important things to learn about is the importance of confidentiality and maintaining boundaries. While this might not sound as useful as counseling techniques themselves, it creates the framework essential to letting further interaction take place safely. This article explores some key issues around confidentiality and boundary setting to help you understand why it is necessary and how it works.
Table of Contents
Creating clarity
One of the important things that boundaries do is to clarify the nature of the counselor-client relationship. As they vary depending on the counselor’s approach, and sometimes on the client’s, it is important to set them out at the start. This is the time to establish how much sessions will cost and how many there will be, to discuss the aims of the counseling process and outline any specific techniques that you intend to use. This enables initial consent to be given on an informed basis, though you should ensure that your client knows that it is okay to discuss developing concerns or changing needs at any stage.
Protecting both parties
Boundaries in a counseling relationship exist to protect both therapist and client. They are particularly important where there is a pre-existing relationship between the two, though such situations are so fraught with risk that they tend to be advised against in all but the most essential circumstances.
Although counselors’ first duty is to protect their clients, in this role it is also important to be aware of one’s own mental health needs and vulnerabilities, and make sure that they only take on what they are capable of handling, as well as ensuring that they have their own support structures in place in case something unexpected threatens their own boundaries. Honesty and self-reflection are vital to this process.
Confidentiality
One ethical line that should not be transgressed in counseling is the duty to keep what clients say confidential. However, there are specific exceptions to this that need to be established at the outset: if a client says something that indicates they are about to commit a serious crime, the counselor is under obligation to inform the relevant authorities. If what they say gives them serious cause for concern that they are a danger to themselves or others, the counselor can disclose the information necessary to get them immediate psychiatric support. In such cases, however, what is revealed should be limited to what is directly relevant, in order to limit the impact on the client’s right to privacy.
The same applies in cases where a client has agreed to some information being shared with a friend, relative or caregiver. If the counselor feels the need to discuss a particular case, for instance to inform a discussion about trauma response, they should take all necessary precautions to make sure that the information they disclose cannot lead to the client being identified.
Self-disclosure
Sometimes, a counselor disclosing information about their own life can help to create a useful connection with their client, or make it easier for them to talk about their experiences, but there are reasons to be cautious about doing it, and it should never be done without careful thought as to the consequences.
The counselor may fail to connect successfully with the client’s frame of reference, give the impression that they think their experience is more important than their client’s, or inadvertently put the client in a position where they feel the need to support or protect them, thereby becoming less open about their own experiences. As a rule, it is more useful to be open about feelings in the present moment than experiences in the past. One should always begin by thinking through what they hope to gain from disclosure.
Physical boundaries
It should be clear to anyone with a serious interest in counseling that interactions that could be considered exploitative should be avoided. This is why, for instance, it is inappropriate for a counselor to form a romantic or sexual relationship with a client — even if it seems as if both parties are equals, there is a dangerous power imbalance in such situations. With other kinds of physical contact, the dangers may be less obvious, but that power imbalance remains and may make it difficult for a client to refuse. For instance, resting a hand on a client’s arm may be intended as a gesture of comfort, but could be distressing for a neurodivergent person or trauma survivor. For this reason, it is important to ask beforehand, and to reassure clients that it is okay to say no at any stage.
Contact and communication
There are many situations in which counselors want clients to have the option of contacting them outside arranged meeting times. This could be about something as simple as rearranging an appointment, or as urgent as seeking help with a mental health crisis or trying to avoid falling off the wagon as an addict.
Being too free with contact information can make it difficult for some clients to distinguish a professional relationship from a personal one, however, and can even put the counselor at risk. It can also make clients feel uncomfortable as they cannot be confident that they know what is expected of them, so wherever possible you should aim to take a consistent approach throughout.
If boundaries are broken
Despite all these rules and guidelines, boundaries are sometimes crossed. If this happens, one should immediately refer the situation to a supervisor and, if necessary, to their professional body. If it is practicable and ethical to do so, they should also take immediate action to mitigate any potential harm to the client. The online doctoral programs in counseling offered by the American International College provide in-depth advice on how to do this and, with their focus on diversity, are particularly good at alerting counselors to the risks of crossing boundaries, which can emerge from poor cultural competence. They are a good way to prepare for working in new and unfamiliar communities.
Setting boundaries carefully at the start of a counseling relationship, and gently prompting clients to ensure that they remain alert to them, helps to create a secure, trusting environment in which one is able to give them the help they need without unwanted consequences.
