Attitudes and Boundries

I. Basic helping attitudes
A. Warmth
1. A worked needs to be friendly, nonjudgmental, and receptive
B. Genuineness
1. Be yourself and not be phony
C. Empathy
1. Put yourself in the person's shoes
2. You must comprehend what the person's needs and feelings are
3.Empathy is not sympathy
D. Don't be judgmental

II. Reality check
A. If a client does not have behavior the way we think they should, that does not give the right to give bad service.

III. How clients are discouraged
A. Don't compare the client to you or someone else
B. Make sure to notice positive changes and strengths
C. Don't try to dominate the client

IV. Understanding boundaries
A.Maintain useful boundaries and refuse to erect those that are not helpful

V.Seeing yourself and the client as completely separate individuals
A.The client reminds you of you
1. Be careful not to push clients into doing things that help us to resolve our problems, it can push the client away
B. The client reflects on you
1. Don't push clients in order to make ourselves look competent.

VI. Erecting detrimental boundaries
A. False attributions
1. People who look like me act like me and think like me
2. People who do not look like me are not like me at all, but are different
3. Neither of these are true
4. When you view people with these assumptions you no longer see the individual
B. False power
1. Don't intimidate the client by displaying authority, competence, or power

VII. Transference and counter transference
A. Transference
1. You can remind the client of someone in their past, a collection of feelings and attitudes the clients holds about you
2. It can be positive and negative
3. Accept it when it exists
B. Counter transference
1. You can project onto the client certain emotions and attitudes because they remind you of someone in your past
2. You have accept yourself and your feelings
3. Don't let these feelings interfere with services

Here is a link to a website that talks about boundaries in psychotherapy and counseling
http://www.zurinstitute.com/boundaries_clinicalupdate.html
This article is valuable because it discuss touch and gift giving which is something that a counselor will come across as they begin helping people. The article talks about it not being bad to use touch or to accept gifts, in the reading I have been doing it says touch is bad. So now I have a question could touch be ok in the right circumstances?