ABSTRACT

We work intimately with many of our clients but those relationships are rightly boundaried and limited. There are some clients I could happily have had as friends had we met under different circumstances. However, once we have worked as someone’s therapist we always need to view the relationship through that preconfiguring lens with all its restrictions. Ethical guidelines support this view. Although there are some variations that suggest a transition from a therapeutic relationship to a social relationship is possible after a certain period of time, I do not subscribe to this view. One of the paradoxes in our work is that in a relationshipfocused profession we can simultaneously find ourselves living an isolated existence. In preserving confidentiality I am not able to chat about my work with my wife over dinner in the same way that she is about her day teaching music. From gestalt’s field perspective if we are insufficiently supported as therapists this will be communicated to our clients. This is one of the reasons I say allow yourself to be passionate about working as a therapist, but do not make therapy your only passion.