How it Works9 mins ago
Crossed The Line ?
39 Answers
My neighbour has been through a lot of trauma over the last three years. She was allotted a councillor. The councller left to have a baby but they started a friendship. Gifts were exchanged before she went on maternity leave. They met up for lunch etc every couple weeks, although they lived about 30 mile apart before and after the baby was born. The councillor called her nanny and mummy. She was about 30 years my neighbours junior. The baby had a few problems with his health. One day out of the blue the neighbour got a text saying she wanted space from the relationship because my neighbour (had been very I'll with depression and) had not said Happy Birthday to the child or asked after his health on his first birthday. My neighbour sent an email saying she had been in bed that day but had sent him a card and baked a cake and bought him a learning toy for his birthday. She has not had a response at all. My neighbour is devasted.
Answers
I agree completely Anne. It shouldn't have happened full stop. The client can always be assumed to be vulnerable, whatever stage they are at. There needs to be a barrier. I've heard of relationship s starting to develop between support workers and clients who are in recovery... it never works.
10:38 Sat 09th Dec 2017
Maybe the (ex)councillor has issues of her own, and is simply misplacing cause of how she feels. Things happen in life; best to try not to take it too personally even if blamed. Suggest to your neighbour that the issue isn't with her but her friend, and maybe her friend does need space for now to work out her stresses for herself. If her friend wants to make contact later, she will. Meanwhile to concentrate on her own life and ensure there's enough in it that it doesn't rely on one relationship to be satisfying.
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I admit to needing to read the first few sentences several times in order to make sense of it. Then, my first thought was that it wasn't a good idea to go from a counselor/client relationship to one of friends. It's not uncommon to develop feelings...and I don't mean sexual ones...for some one who is caring, helpful, and gives advice. It's best to keep it professional, and I think it was wrong for the counsellor to encourage this in any way.
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