Boundaries in school counselling: Conceptual, theoretical, and risk-management dimensions

Abstract

Safeguarding the integrity of the counselling process and the need to protect clients has been considered necessary in the thoughts of scholars and practitioners. School counselling, however, presents a peculiar challenge in view of the fact that school counsellors could be made to take on other roles that tend to diminish their therapeutic presence. The main objective of this paper was to discuss the reality and necessity of boundaries within school counselling with particular reference to its conceptual, theoretical, and risk management dimensions. It was concluded that despite the fact that school counsellors are exposed to unavoidable dual relationships with students, rightful incorporation of some risk management procedures could help to entrench the required boundaries in school counselling.

Keywords-School Counselling, Boundary Crossing, Boundary Violation, Risk-Management