At Personal Risk: Boundary Violations in Professional-Client Relationships

Professionals can no longer afford to be uninformed about their professional vulnerability. A better informed public and increasingly litigious society place them at risk for possible legal action and professional sanctions when they violate professional-client boundaries. This book addresses boundary violations through the lens of the professional-client relationship, drawing examples of misconduct from law, medicine, religion, education, and psychotherapy--professions which oblige the professional to place the client's needs first. Professional misconduct is commonly defined by content (for example, sexual harassment or misuse of client funds); this practice eclipses the injury to the relationship itself and ignores, dismisses, or normalizes violations that do not fit within the specific categories of malfeasance or codes of ethics. At Personal Risk expands the spectrum of behaviors that are hurtful to clients by redefining violations as a process of disconnection that occurs within