Professional Boundaries in Social work and Social care A Practical Guide to Understanding, Maintaining and Managing your Professional Boundaries FRANK COOPER Foreword by Jonathan CoeProfessional Boundaries in Social Work and Social Care A Practical Guide to Understanding, Maintaining and Managing your Professional Boundaries FRANK COOPER Foreword by Jonathan Coe ‘Frank Cooper provides helpful checklists and some core questions to assist practitioners in their decision-making. […] [He] does much to improve professional understanding, and to protect the public.’ – From the Foreword by Jonathan Coe, Managing Director, The Clinic for Boundary Studies, UK Professional boundaries between worker and client underpin all areas of practice in social work and social care, and the mismanagement of these boundaries can lead to unprofessional conduct and negative consequences for both worker and client. This book is a no-nonsense guide to boundaries – what they are, why they are there and how to maintain them, from legal boundaries and policies governing behaviour to rules surrounding confidentiality. Presenting a flexible framework of rules and guidelines which can be applied to any client relationship, the book offers practical advice and suggestions on how to judge boundaries and how to manage a situation when they have been crossed. It also explores the benefit to both worker and client of establishing a good rapport whilst maintaining a professional emotional distance. Throughout the book, and in the self-assessment test provided, the reader is invited to examine his or her personal responses to working with clients and their effect on maintaining professional boundaries. This simple and practical reference guide will be of essential use to professionals in social work and social care working with or managing support for clients. Frank Cooper is a freelance trainer specialising in professional boundaries in social care, and has over 16 years’ experience as a social care professional. He previously also taught in the fields of volunteer training and drugs awareness, and has developed accredited courses in his chosen fields of speciality. His website can be found at www.professionalboundariesinsocialwork.com. Jessica Kingsley Publishers 116 Pentonville Road London N1 9JB, UK 400 Market Street, Suite 400 Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA www.jkp.com Cover image © Sylverarts | Dreamstime.com Cover design by Jan Marshall Professional Boundaries in Social Work and Social Care FRANK COOPER