Career practice and family members

Career practitioners are just like everyone else on the planet: we have a human need for support networks of family and friends; essential for our mental and physical health. And just like other professions, we need to consider professional boundaries, ethics and privacy. So specifically, as career practitioners, why should we avoid having clients who are close friends or members of our family?

The US National Career Development Association is explicit in section "A.5. Roles and Relationships with Clients" (NCDA, 2015, p. 5), stating that "Career professionals [should] avoid providing services to individuals with whom they have had a previous romantic or sexual relationship. They also avoid providing services to friends or family members with whom they have an inability to remain objective". While there is a work around with "If career professionals engage in providing services to any of these individuals, they must consult with another career professional and document their reasons for not referring the client to someone else", I can't think of a situation when this would be wise. I am sure that there are potentially such times, but I still feel that this would still be unwise if the client were a close family member - certainly not a romantic partner or someone with whom we were in a power relationship.

Further, "Sexual or romantic interactions or relationships with current clients, their romantic partners, or their family members are prohibited". If a client relationship is drifting away from it's professional basis, then perhaps we are not being as professional as we should be. We should all be well aware from our training that there are boundaries.

In my opinion, boundaries, professionalism, the complexity of standing in two worlds at once, knowing what can and can't be spoken of, and potential relationship conflicts all make trying to be all things to all people not worth the risk. So let's explore those five considerations in a little more detail:

1. Objectivity: career practice requires us to have a level of professional "objectivity and neutrality when working with clients", and when we work with clients with whom we have "a personal relationship", it is difficult for us "to remain impartial and unbiased, potentially compromising the quality and effectiveness" of our work together (Khanna, 2023).
2. Dual Relationships: Attempting to establish a professional practice relationship with "someone who is a family member or close friend [...creates] a dual relationship, where [we hold] both a personal and professional role" with our client. Having a boot in each camp - so to speak - is likely "to lead to conflicts of interest and make it difficult to separate [ou]r personal feelings and responsibilities from [ou]r professional duties" (Khanna, 2023).
3. Confidentiality: Career practitioners must practice following our professional code of ethics and national privacy legislation. Effectively maintaining confidentiality when we work with someone we know personally adds another layer of unneeded complexity to the professional relationship. Further, the "trust and privacy that [our] clients [should] expect from [us] may be compromised if they fear that personal information could be shared within the[ir] social circle" (Khanna, 2023).
4. Boundaries: Our professional duty to "ensure the client's best interests are served" may be compromised due to the blurring of boundaries "when working with friends or family" (Khanna, 2023).
5. Relationship impacts: As career practitioners, we need to "create a safe and therapeutic space for [our] clients", yet that very work may "bring up deep emotions and sensitive issues". If a career client needs to explore personal or family-related matters" in the course of their work together, "it could affect their relationship outside the therapeutic setting" (Khanna, 2023), or it might put the career practitioner in an unsafe place where they are hearing issues which may affect them or the wider family for some time to come.

What is interesting is now silent our CDANZ (2016) Code of Ethics is on this type of ethical conflict. The COE areas where we might run into some difficulty are, I think:

• "Represent services, qualifications, and experience accurately and fully, and only undertake those practices for which they are qualified and in circumstances where they have appropriate experience" (CDANZ, 2016). I would imagine it were difficult to develop experience in counselling one's own family.
• "Disclose all known and potential conflicts of interest before they arise. Members shall only proceed with the service if they are satisfied that the conflict, or perception of conflict, will not impair the member’s impartiality and independence" (CDANZ, 2016). It is difficult to be perceptive enough to clearly disclose conflicts at the outset when dealing with people who are close to us; we find ourselves 'hoping' everything will turn out all right, instead of being fully professional.
• "Remain fully aware of their social responsibility and the impact of their recommendations and actions. Be alert to personal, social, organisational, financial, or political situations or pressures which might lead to misuse of their influence" (CDANZ, 2016). It is difficult to maintain objectivity when being in a professional space with someone we know on a personal level. Remaining in 'character' may be challenging. We may inadvertently ask questions which takes our relationship into territory that damages our personal relationship; and how would we repair that?

I personally find the CDANZ COE (2016) less than helpful on matters such as dual relationships; it is simply not explicit enough to guide us well.

In this type of case, I think we are better to be guided by the US approach, to keep our boundaries clear, and if a relationship is drifting towards friendship, that we are all best served by referring our client to a new career professional, and allowing our friendship to safely and unambiguously blossom.

Sam

References:

CDANZ. (2016). Code of Ethics. Career Development Association of New Zealand. https://cdanz.org.nz/ModularPage?Action=View&ModularPage_id=26

Khanna, N. (2023, July 21). Why can't a counsellor counsel family or friends?. Psychoflakes. https://www.psychoflakes.com/post/why-can-t-a-counsellor-counsel-family-or-friends

NCDA. (2015). Code of Ethics. National Career Development Association. https://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/asset_manager/get_file/3395