Am I crossing a boundary?

Sometimes the lines between following the service plan and what the customer asks us to do can be difficult to clarify, especially in a consumer directed environment. When thinking about whether a situation could be a potential boundary problem, ask yourself the following questions:

–Could I or my family or friends benefit directly from this situation?
–Would a fair and reasonable person in the same position make this decision?
–Would I tell my supervisor about this?
–Have I considered all my options?
–Would my actions withstand public scrutiny?
–What is my duty as a Home Care Worker/Care Giver?

THE DRAMA TRIANGLE

–The drama triangle occurs in the following way:

–The home care worker sees a need and provides a favour (rescuer)
–The customer receives the favour (victim)
–The customer becomes dependent on the support worker and the favour is now an expected service. The customer complains when the home care worker is unable to provide the service (persecutor)
–The home care worker is now the victim

Lesson Summary

Sometimes it can be difficult to clarify the boundaries between following the service plan and fulfilling customer requests in a consumer-directed environment. To determine if a situation could potentially be a boundary problem, consider the following questions:

  • Could I, my family, or friends benefit directly from this situation?
  • Would a fair and reasonable person in the same position make this decision?
  • Would I tell my supervisor about this?
  • Have I considered all my options?
  • Would my actions withstand public scrutiny?
  • What is my duty as a Home Care Worker/Care Giver?

The drama triangle often occurs in these situations:

  • The home care worker sees a need and provides a favor (rescuer).
  • The customer receives the favor and becomes dependent on the support worker (victim).
  • The favor is now expected, and the customer complains when the home care worker is unable to provide it (persecutor).
  • The home care worker ends up being the victim.

Complete and Continue