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Relationships, not boundaries.

Gene Combs1, Jill Freedman

  • 1Evanston Family Therapy Center, IL 60201, USA. narrativetherapy@aol.com

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics
|December 7, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Focusing on just relationships, not boundaries, helps professionals address power inequities and systemic injustice. This relational approach supports ethical practice by examining participation rather than distance.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Ethics

Background:

  • The metaphor of boundaries in psychological practice can obscure systemic issues.
  • Focusing on individual psychological issues may distract from power inequities related to gender, race, class, and culture.
  • Ethical practice metaphors should not oversimplify complex social injustices.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To advocate for a shift in focus from boundaries to relationships in ethical practice.
  • To explore how a relational focus can illuminate power dynamics and social injustices.
  • To present a narrative approach to therapy emphasizing just relationships.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of the metaphor of boundaries versus relationships in ethical practice.
  • Examination of how focusing on relationships addresses systemic issues like injustice, abuse, and exploitation.
  • Illustrative clinical examples of relationally-focused ethical practices derived from narrative therapy.

Main Results:

  • Attention to relationships, rather than boundaries, offers a more effective lens for ethical practice.
  • A relational focus encourages examination of power, gender, race, class, and culture.
  • This approach facilitates critical analysis of participation and its ethical implications.

Conclusions:

  • Shifting from a boundary metaphor to a relational one enhances ethical practice in helping professions.
  • Focusing on just relationships allows for a deeper understanding of systemic injustices.
  • Narrative therapy provides a framework for developing relationally-focused ethical practices.
Keywords:
Analytical ApproachMental Health TherapiesProfessional Patient Relationship

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