Learning Module: Volunteer Training Level 1

Note

This presentation on boundaries is from the perspective of a staff person to a client, but the information is also applicable to a volunteer/client interaction.

Defining Boundaries Boundaries are:

Limits that allow for safe connections between individuals

Limits on actions which…

Acknowledge the difference between the advocate’s power and the client’s vulnerability

Prevent conflicts of interest

Maintain safety for both parties in the relationship.

Are based on context

Can be complex and multi-layered.

Defining Advocacy Advocates are trained to assist victims of crime

Advocates should:

Recognize the interests of the client as a primary responsibility

Respect the client’s rights to privacy and confidentiality, subject only to laws or regulations requiring disclosure of information to appropriate other sources

Respond compassionately to each client with personalized services

Accept the client’s statement of events as it is told, withholding opinion or judgment, whether or not a suspected offender has been identified, arrested, convicted, or acquitted

Provide services to every client without attributing blame, no matter what the client’s conduct was at the time of the victimization or at another stage of the client’s life

Advocate-Client Boundaries Social relationships are for people who enjoy each other’s company and have shared

interest, each party is equally responsible to establish and maintain the relationship and address power imbalances.

Advocate-Client relationships are planned and goal-directed interactions between an advocate and an abuse survivor.

Advocates need to recognize that:

Advocates are responsible for maintaining and teaching appropriate boundaries. Sometimes a client’s concept of boundaries can be so under-formulated that they may not be aware of what appropriate boundaries are. This is often because clients tend to be in crisis and their boundaries have been completely violated and ignored.

Advocates need to empathize appropriately. Overstepping boundaries takes place when an advocate moves from caring about clients to becoming over involved in the clients’ lives. Also under-involvement with a client can be a boundary violation as well.

Advocate-Client Boundaries The advocate-client relationship is one of unequal power. The advocate has

knowledge, access to resources, authority and influence the survivor needs. This creates vulnerability.

The client can perceive boundary crossings as the misuse of power or the betrayal of trust.

Boundary crossings can cause minor or major physical, emotional or economic harm to clients.

Setting boundaries

Protects the client

Protects the advocate

Protects the agency

Promotes healthy interactions

UNDERSTANDING POTENTIAL

“BOUNDARY CROSSINGS” All professionals commonly face situations that, if not managed properly, can

quickly lead to excursions across “boundaries”. The situations are called “potential boundary crossings”. Boundary crossings can be inadvertent and unintentional. However, a potential boundary crossing, unchecked, can quickly lead to a boundary violation.

A literature review reveals that most advocate-client boundary issues fall into four major categories of concern that can be seen along a spectrum of behavior that could be interpreted as appropriate, slightly inappropriate or in the worst case, criminal.

Survivor to Survivor There may be instances where an advocate or volunteer has also experienced domestic or sexual abuse in their past. While their bravery and resilience is an amazing thing, harm can come from sharing a personal story with a current client.

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Because of the advocate/volunteer role you have resources and power the client does not. It is important to remember that our goal is to help navigate and listen to the survivor. This means not inserting our own story- otherwise we risk...

Redirecting Attention: taking the focus off the client and redirecting attention to ourselves.

Role Reversal: Now the client might feel like they need to comfort or support the volunteer or advocate and roles are reversed.

Over-identification: Attempting to relate with the survivor by pointing out superficial similarities between your own and her experiences may be interpreted as your desire to talk about your own problems.

False Hope: The client may feel because the volunteer or advocate was able to overcome their situation, that the exact same method will work for their situation too (which is not always true). This may lead the client to believe their experience will work out the same as yours.

Sharing stories of overcoming abuse with other survivors can be therapeutic and uplifting. But the context in how they are shared can make all the difference. One friend sharing a story with another friend is an even power distribution. Clients sharing their experiences in a support group is an even power distribution. But a volunteer or advocate sharing a story with a client is not.

Four Major Categories of Boundary Issues

• Client care (e.g. care as deemed appropriate by agency’s policies and procedures which can deal with affection; respecting cultural differences, over-involvement or under-involvement with client, tone, communication, having adequate staff to meet client care needs...etc.)

• Access to and/or disclosure of information (e.g. federal and state privacy acts, code of ethics obligations related to patient confidentiality, professional misconduct for breaking patient confidentiality, local policies and procedures related to privacy, and inappropriate self disclosure... etc.)

• Gifts, services and financial relationships (e.g. understanding the motivation behind gift giving, respecting the timing of the gift and the cost of the gift, respecting client vulnerability... etc.)

• Dual relationships (e.g. business relationships with client; understanding when the client ceases to be a client; treating family members... etc.)

RED FLAGS DANGER ZONES • Acceptance or giving of gifts

There are rarely black and white rules for boundaries. Accepting small tokens of appreciation may be okay. You should refuse a gift when you think the survivor is doing it for other reasons such as to win special privileges, manipulate, or as a come-on. If possible, share the gift with other staff so that it is clear you are accepting for the whole agency. "I'll take these cookies to our staff meeting." "Let's put the flowers here where everyone can enjoy them." It is sometimes acceptable to give small gifts to celebrate milestones. Try to make them relate to the survivor's safety or therapeutic goals, (a journal, a book on parenting, an alert whistle for her keychain). Giving gifts of minimal value may also help establish relationships with children or adolescents and it is often acceptable. Giving gifts under other circumstances is likely to be a boundary violation.

Presence of conditions conducive to burnout

Constant pressure to do more with less. Using work to satisfy all needs. Such issues create emotional stressors which can lead to unhealthy boundary choices

RED FLAGS DANGER ZONES

Lack of definition: job description, written policies & procedures

Lack of defined procedures and lack of awareness of procedures can easily result in staff committing boundary violations.

Sharing intimate personal information or work concerns with a client

You should not develop friendship relationships with women while they are using your agencies services. Friendship implies mutual support. You should not meet your own personal emotional needs within the advocacy relationship. The power in the relationship is not equal.

Making your own rules

Altering your limits. Seeing yourself as unique or above the rules or victimized, unsupported, or misunderstood.

RED FLAGS DANGER ZONES

Promising particular clients loyalty/availability/special treatment

Showing favoritism with clients can not only undermine the healing process of other clients but the client being favored as well. Allowing a client to believe they can circumvent rules or boundaries teaches them unhealthy boundaries and fails to facilitate learning coping skills they need to develop when things may not proceed as they planned or desired.

Having dual relationships

If you knew the survivor in some other way before she became a client (friend, coworker, relative, etc.) you should take extra care to maintain your boundaries. Best practice is to transfer advocacy to a coworker or other project at the first opportunity.

Advice giving

Telling someone what they should do plays up the power differential between you, may be judgmental, and is disempowering. Your role is to provide information, including your previous experience with systems, not to recommend a particular course of action. You should certainly explore likely outcomes.

RED FLAGS DANGER ZONES

Reversal of roles

You may find that some of the survivors you work with have specialized skills or knowledge that you personally would benefit from, or that you personally desire support. It is inappropriate to get those needs met from the survivors you are or your agency is working with. Such dual relationships confuse and blur relationship boundaries. If you find yourself needing support or assistance seek outside help.

Over-identification and frequently thinking of a client when away from work

The “I-know-how-you-feel" reaction can be helpful but is just as likely to convince your client of the complete opposite. She may respond with, “No, you don't!”. Attempts to develop rapport with the survivor by pointing out superficial similarities between your own and her experiences may be interpreted as your desire to talk about your own problems. Working with survivors of violence can bring up many painful personal issues. If you find it hard to keep the focus on your clients or if brooding about work intrudes on your personal life, make sure you process these issues with your co-workers and/or seek professional support for your needs.

RED FLAGS DANGER ZONES

Keeping secrets with a client

If you hide your interactions with your clients or your actions on their behalf from your co-workers, there is usually a reason: at some level boundaries are being violated, you are breaking agency policy, etc. If you feel that the policy is harmful to a client that is a discussion to have with your fellow staff. You may have identified a policy that needs to be changed or done away with. If you believe that keeping secrets with a client shows that you are trustworthy, be aware that it often proves just the opposite. It lets her know that you are not to be trusted because you will break the boundaries set up by agency policy. If you don’t obey the rules, then no rules for human interaction can be trusted for sure.

Spending free time with a client

This blurs the line between advocacy and friendship. You will like and enjoy many of the women you advocate for, but it is not helpful to violate boundaries on their behalf. It changes the terms of the relationship. You will be more likely to favor one client over another. You will also be more likely to rely on the client to meet your own needs.

RED FLAGS DANGER ZONES

Withholding knowledge or advocacy from a client as a punishment or to coerce compliance

Like everyone else, some battered women have difficult, draining, frustrating, or irritating personalities. It may be tempting to offer fewer services or resources to coerce battered women into courses of actions that you would prefer they take or simply into being easier to work with. All clients should have equal access to information and support, even the difficult ones.

Getting entangled in the RESCUE TRIANGLE

The Rescue Triangle describes an unhealthy relationship that can develop between advocates and clients which can affect application of appropriate boundaries. The three roles of the triangle are interchangeable. In some cases, a person may be the Victim or the Persecutor, and in others the Rescuer or the Persecutor

Karpman Drama Triangle: The Rescue Triangle

RESCUE TRIANGLE DEFINITIONS

The Victim

This person is in a "one-down" position and believes that she is powerless to change either herself or the situation, this person is the Victim. Our victims are often in crisis and expect the Rescuer to assume the responsibility for the helping process.

The Rescuer

When advocates view the person being helped as powerless they become the Rescuer. The Rescuer assumes the burden of dealing with every problem presented on behalf of the client. Little or no effort is expected on the part of the person seeking help.

The Persecutor

When an advocate tires of the Rescuer role and expresses this to the person being helped, the advocate has become the Persecutor. The Rescuer accumulates resentment and anger toward the Victim who always seems to need more help and this is expressed in a negative way. Moreover, the Victim becomes angry when kept in a one-down position by the Rescuer and may try to regain power and control in the relationship by becoming the Persecutor.

The Rescue

A rescue is defined as an attempt to "save" a person who is viewed as powerless. Rescuing is disrespectful and unproductive. It implies that the rescuer has no confidence in the ability of the Victim to take care of situations and make choices for her own life.

TED Triangle The Creator- focuses on vision and desired outcomes.

Takes full responsibility for initiating action to achieve their desired outcomes.

Coach- empowers people through inquiry to help them gain clarity

Challenger- Sparks learning by challenging assumptions and the status quo. Focuses on improvement and development by holding people accountable for taking action.

PREVENTING AND MINIMIZING BOUNDARY ISSUES Know your agency’s policies and procedures

Good self-care

Self-evaluation: It is easier to set effective boundaries when you are aware of you own needs, weaknesses, strengths, feelings, personality patterns, and life experiences which may impact your ability to relate to the client. These things include but are not limited to:

Your cultural background

Gender

Age

Your previous and current experiences

Your preferred ways of handling stress or difficult issues (denial, humor, etc.)

Your sense of security

Your sense of self

Socio-economic class

Religious values

Educational background

Consult with a staff person before making a final decision. When in doubt staff the case with a co-worker or your supervisor. They may be able to provide insight/ideas/considerations that you are not aware of.

References

Ohio Family Violence Prevention Center

Adapted from Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence Advocate Training Manual http://www.icadv.org/lib/Resources/CDAA_Level_II/CDAAlevelIIboundaries.pdf

MLT Boundaries of Practice Guidebook http://www.cmlto.com/quality_assurance/MLT_practice_guidelines/pdf/boundaries_guidebook.pdf