Posted: March 11th, 2023

5320:U7 D2:Objectivity and Transference

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5320:U7 D2: Objectivity and Transference

Your textbook presents several examples of situations where objectivity and
transference might impact a therapeutic relationship. There is often a continuum
that ranges from emotional objectivity to transference that can completely impair
judgment. Select a scenario from the Cooperative Learning Exercise on page
260 of your textbook, or provide an example from your experience where there
was a real or potential loss of objectivity or transference.

In your initial post, describe the difference between emotional objectivity and
transference. Describe the scenario you selected and explain where or how the
loss of objectivity or transference might occur in the scenario.

NOTE: 250-300 Words and at least 1 scholarly journal

260–●–ETHICAL PRACTICE IN THE HUMAN SERVICES

As you read the continuation of the dialogue, ask yourself, whose
needs are being met? Further, after reading the presentation, use the
reflections to begin to conceptualize how you would respond in a situa-
tion such as this.

Ms.Wicks: But Maria, I do care about you. I am worried you are placing
yourself in harm’s way. If it would be easier for you, I would be
willing to let you stay with me for a while.

Maria: Stay with you?

Ms. Wicks: Well, I mean, sometimes it is easier to get away from a guy like
Carlos, when you can get out of the area.

Maria: I don’t need to get away from Carlos, I love him.

Ms. Wicks: Sometimes, Maria, we romanticize our relationships, and we
feel like it is love. It is just our way of justifying having sex with
somebody. I know . . . I almost ruined my life by quitting school
and running away with a high school sweetheart just because
I lost my virginity to him. It’s real easy to think you love someone
when it is only lust.

Maria: Well, I’m not sure what you are talking about. I love Carlos and
he loves me. I don’t need to run away from him.

Ms. Wicks: I know it seems like love, but trust me, Maria, if you could
step back and get away for just a little while, you would see it
differently.

Maria: Ms. Wicks . . . I like you, but . . . you are wrong here. Anyway
. . . how did we get talking about this? I thought we were
talking about you telling Ms. Armstrong about me having sex or
something?

Reflections

1. What is your feeling about Ms. Wicks’s invitation to come and live
with her for a while? Why?

2. Do you feel it is appropriate for Ms. Wicks to share her own high
school story of romance? Why? Why not?

3. Is Ms. Wicks exhibiting the effects of simple identification or simply
demonstrating her real personal understanding of Maria’s situation?

Parsons, Richard D., and Karen L. Dickinson. Ethical Practice in the Human Services : From Knowing to Being, SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 2016.
ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/capella/detail.action?docID=5945468.
Created from capella on 2023-02-23 16:43:40.

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Chapter 10. Boundaries and the Ethical Use of Power –●–261

COOPERATIVE LEARNING EXERCISE ●

As suggested within this chapter, while the need to create and maintain pro-
fessional boundaries is essential to an ethical helping relationship, boundary
violations do occur. Often boundaries are crossed and inappropriate helper
behavior is manifested as a result of the helper’s loss of emotional objectivity.

Part 1: Review each of the following scenarios and along with a classmate
or colleague, identify where the loss of emotional objectivity may exist and
how boundary violations may be manifested.

Helper 1: A marriage counselor currently going through her own very
painful divorce

Helper 2: A young, attractive school counselor working with senior high
school honors students

Helper 3: A drug and alcohol counselor who himself has been an addict
and who has recently returned to drinking

Part II: Interview three professional helpers, asking the following questions:

1. During your professional career, have you experienced any major life
crises (e.g., death of a loved one, loss of a job, divorce)?

2. (For those who have experienced such life crises) during that time,
what adjustments to your professional work did you make, if any?

3. (For those who have not experienced such a crisis) if you were to
experience one of these life crises, would you adjust your approach
to your professional work during the time of the crisis. If so, how and
why? If not, why not?

Share your findings with a colleague and discuss the implications of the
responses in light of the content of this chapter.

SUMMARY ●

• All professional codes of ethics attend to the issue of boundaries and
the need to assure nonexploitation of the client through boundary
crossing and the mixing of multiple relationships.

• All boundary crossings (i.e., departure from commonly accepted pro-
fessional roles and practices) can become problematic and need to be

Parsons, Richard D., and Karen L. Dickinson. Ethical Practice in the Human Services : From Knowing to Being, SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 2016.
ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/capella/detail.action?docID=5945468.
Created from capella on 2023-02-23 16:43:40.

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262–●–ETHICAL PRACTICE IN THE HUMAN SERVICES

avoided. Any boundary violation in which the practitioner’s needs are
given primacy at the client’s expense is unethical.

• The effective, ethical helper places the concerns and needs of the
client as top priority. Placing the client’s concerns as a priority (i.e.,
altruism) rather than the concerns of the helper (i.e., narcissism)
requires the helper to distinguish his or her personal issues and emo-
tional needs from those presented by the client.

• Professional objectivity can be compromised by a number of situa-
tions. While some, such as simple identification and transferences,
reflect a distortion of reality on the part of the helper, a more com-
mon form stems from the development of a dual relationship with the
client, involving both a professional and personal tone.

• A dual relationship is one in which the helper has two (or more) overlap-
ping roles with the client. While all professional codes of conduct warn
about the risk of dual relationships, not all codes are as clear-cut about the
evils of dual relationships or about the sanctions that should be applied.

• It is not the existence of duality that is the problem but the possibility
that such duality will invite exploitation of the client. As such, each
case should arouse concern and vigilance on the part of the ethical
helper in order to ensure that exploitation does not occur.

• Sexual relationships of any kind are unethical in the helping setting/
context. All professional organizations are very clear about prohibi-
tion of sexual intimacy between a helper and a client.

• The inappropriateness of a sexual relationship between helper and
client rests in the fact that the helping relationship is unbalanced in
power and dependency issues. As such, the reciprocal nature of a
healthy intimate relationship is not possible. When sexual contact
becomes part of a therapeutic relationship, the expectation of trust
that is fundamental to the process of therapy is violated.

• The unethical nature of dual relationships reflects the courts’ view
that the helping relationships (i.e., physician-patient, psychiatrist-
patient, and social worker-client) are of a fiduciary nature, meaning
that the professional has a duty to act to the benefit of the other indi-
vidual in any matters related to an undertaking between them.

• If the fiduciary obligation exists, it could be argued that the practi-
tioner is obliged to act in the best interest of and in good faith and
with loyalty toward the client and not abuse the power imbalance by
exploiting the client.

• Keeping client needs as primary in the relationship can prove invalu-
able for maintaining appropriate boundaries and use of power within
the helping relationship.

Parsons, Richard D., and Karen L. Dickinson. Ethical Practice in the Human Services : From Knowing to Being, SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 2016.
ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/capella/detail.action?docID=5945468.
Created from capella on 2023-02-23 16:43:40.

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Chapter 10. Boundaries and the Ethical Use of Power –●–263

• The need to be aware of self and relationships is essential in order
to create and maintain appropriate professional boundaries. Ethical
practitioners will be aware of their decisions to depart from what is
typical and be able to explain the therapeutic reasons for such depar-
ture. The question that needs to be answered, especially at times of
departure from typical or model procedures is, whose need is being
served?

IMPORTANT TERMS ●

altruism multiple relationship

boundaries narcissism

boundary crossing professional objectivity

boundary violations professional relationship

dual relationships sexual identification

exploitation sexual intimacy

fiduciary obligation transference

fiduciary relationship

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ●

Print

Calmes, S. A., Piazza, N. J., & Laux, J. M. (2013). The use of touch in counseling: An
ethical decision-making model. Counseling & Values, 58(1), 59–68.

Herlihy, B., & Corey, G. (2014). Boundary issues in counseling: Multiple roles and
Responsibilities. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Pope, K. S., & Vasquez, M. J. (2005). How to survive and thrive as a therapist:
Information, ideas, and resources for psychologists in practice. Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association.

Syme, G. (2003). Dual relationships in counselling and psychotherapy: Exploring
the limits. Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage.

Zur, O. (2007). Boundaries in psychotherapy: Ethical and clinical explorations.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Zur, O. (2015). Therapeutic boundaries and dual relationships in psychotherapy.
Retrieved from http://www.zurinstitute.com/boundariesbrochure

Parsons, Richard D., and Karen L. Dickinson. Ethical Practice in the Human Services : From Knowing to Being, SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 2016.
ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/capella/detail.action?docID=5945468.
Created from capella on 2023-02-23 16:43:40.

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264–●–ETHICAL PRACTICE IN THE HUMAN SERVICES

Web-Based

Bleiberg, J. R., & Baron, J. (2004). Entanglement in dual relationships in a university
counseling center. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 19(1), 21–34.

Pope, K. S. (n.d.). Dual relationships, multiple relationships, & boundary decisions.
Retrieved from http://www.kspope.com/dual/

Pope, K. S., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (n.d.). A practical approach to boundaries in psycho-
therapy: Making decisions, bypassing blunders, and mending fences. Retrieved
from http://kspope.com/ethics/boundary.php

Reamer, F. G. (2003). Boundary issues in social work: Managing dual relationships.
Social Work, 48(1), 121–133.

● REFERENCES

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American Counseling Association. (2014). Code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www
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American Psychological Association. (2010). Ethical principles of psychologists and
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Black, H. C. (1991). Black’s law dictionary (Abridged, 6th ed.). St. Paul, MN: West
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CA: Sage.

Parsons, Richard D., and Karen L. Dickinson. Ethical Practice in the Human Services : From Knowing to Being, SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 2016.
ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/capella/detail.action?docID=5945468.
Created from capella on 2023-02-23 16:43:40.

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Chapter 10. Boundaries and the Ethical Use of Power –●–265

Sheperis, D. S., Henning, S. L., & Kocet, M. M. (2016). Ethical decision making for
the 21st century counselor. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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ogy: Research and Practice, 22(4), 297–307.

Zur, O. (2015). Therapeutic boundaries and dual relationships in psychotherapy.
Retrieved from http://www.zurinstitute.com/boundariesbrochure

Parsons, Richard D., and Karen L. Dickinson. Ethical Practice in the Human Services : From Knowing to Being, SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 2016.
ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/capella/detail.action?docID=5945468.
Created from capella on 2023-02-23 16:43:40.

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