Appropriate Boundaries Between School Personnel and Students Presented by Longview Associates, LLC

What Are Boundaries? From a psychological point of view: Boundaries are key to how we deal with intimacy, loneliness, conflict, anxiety, stress and challenge at every stage of life. They are integral to how our identity is constructed; because they are so central to the development of our personalities, to how we think and feel about ourselves and how others experience us. Longview Associates, LLC 2

Boundary Issues We all have the potential to enter into a gray area when it comes to professional boundaries. You are at higher risk when you encounter particular situations that are triggers for you or if you are going through a very stressful life event. Accepting that you have the potential is an important step for safeguarding yourself. Longview Associates, LLC 3

Why Do We Have Boundary Issues? The need to be liked. Becoming overly involved in students personal lives. Dealing with a stressful event. Underlying psychological issues or triggers. Not sure which behaviors are inappropriate. Lack of training for school personnel and students. The school policies are non-existent, aren’t clear, or not enforced consistently. Longview Associates, LLC 4

What Is Appropriate? Some Examples: Providing humor and friendly comments. Giving comments that are not overly personal. Treating all students in a consistent manner. Spending a majority of time with all students. Longview Associates, LLC 5 What are some other examples?

Situations That Could Result In Inappropriate Behavior A student opens up to a faculty member about his/her personal life. A school employee is friend’s with a student’s parents. A coach has students over to his/her house for a barbecue at the end of the season. An elementary school student regularly hugs staff and sits on their laps. A high school female student wears revealing clothing. Longview Associates, LLC 6

How Should These Situations Be Handled? Longview Associates, LLC 7

Personal Assessment Personally assessing the following list of statements can help alert you to the kinds of boundary issues that might risk interfering with your ability to work most effectively—and ethically--with students. If your answer to any of these brief statements is “yes,” you may be in jeopardy of abusing professional boundaries. Longview Associates, LLC 8

Personal Assessment Questions The student feels more like a friend than a student. You feel sexually aroused in response to a student. You often choose your clothing with a particular student in mind. You reveal a lot about yourself with a particular student, perhaps telling stories or engaging in friend-like conversation. You share personal problems with a client. You allow a student to comfort you. You accept gifts or favors from a student. Longview Associates, LLC 9

Personal Assessment Questions (cont’d) You find it difficult to refrain from talking about a particular student with people close to you. You do so much on behalf of one particular student, you feel exhausted. You invite a student to a public or social event. A student behaves very seductively and you don’t know how to handle it. You identify so strongly with a student’s emotional distress that you have real difficulty attending to the situation. Longview Associates, LLC 10

Case Scenario/Role Play You are the school social worker/psychologist. A teacher has come to you for your advice because he is concerned. He tells you he has received s from a student at home in the evening. In the s, the student describes how he is having problems at home speaking with his parents about a problem. The teacher feels reluctant to cut off the s because he feels that it’s better for the student to be speaking to him rather than no one at all. 1. What are the issues that concern you in this case? 2. How would you advise the teacher? Longview Associates, LLC 11

Case Scenario/Role Play The assistant superintendent contacts you about a custodian that a parent complained about. Last week the custodian saw a student in the high school gym after school who looked very upset. When the custodian approached the student, the student said she had a headache. He suggested that she go to the school nurse, but she declined. So the custodian offered her some Tylenol and she took it. He then sat down and spoke to her about her stressful day. She told her parents about it who then contacted the district office. The assistant superintendent met with the custodian and has concerns about his ability to comprehend the serious nature of his behavior. She has requested that you speak with the custodian about the incident. 1. What are the issues that concern you in this case? 2. How would you advise the custodian? 3. What feedback would you give to the assistant superintendent? Longview Associates, LLC 12