Boundary Issues and Dual Relationships in Human Services through SNHU Shapiro Library. From
what I had learned from this article so far is that Boundary issues occur when professionals—
including social workers, psychologists, mental health counsellors, marriage and family therapists,
substance-use disorder practitioners, pastoral counsellors, psychiatrists, and psychiatric nurses—enter
more than one relationship with clients and in some instances colleagues, whether professional, social,
or business. Not until the 1990s did a critical mass of literature on the subject begin to emerge, even
though the broader field of professional ethics emerged as a bona fide specialty in the 1970s. This is a
significant development in the evolution of the professional ethics field. Some dual relationships need
to be prevented, such as sexual relationships with clients. Other dual relationships are inevitable and
need to be managed carefully—for example, when professionals who work and live in a rural area or
on a military base encounter client outside of the clinical office. This some interesting information
from this article and from what I am seeing it talks about a lot of different relationships that goes on. c
(Reamer, 2021)
Human service professionals have struggled with some boundary issues ever since the field was
created, for example, in managing social interactions with former clients, in making self-disclosures to
clients, and in responding to clients’ gifts and social invitations. Now from the history I had read that
happen years ago, developing self-awareness is a lifelong process of learning about oneself by
continually examining one’s beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviours. Helpers’ effectiveness depends
in part on their ability to communicate to the client an understanding of the client’s feeling`s and
behaviours (Kantrowitz, 2014) (Okun, 2014). Until the Middle Ages, people believed that mental
illness was caused by evil spirits, and early forms of treatment focused on ridding the body of these
demons. Other attempts to control the demons included chaining, beating, starving, and bleeding the
unfortunate human host (National Institute of Mental Health, 1971).
Since COVID-19 seems to be the topic most choose it might do some good to read about the elderly
and how it affects our lives today and the work that human services have on their hands to help with
housing them if there is no family to help. For most elderly, being alone with no one to care for them,
such as a loss of a spouse or family members not being able to find an in-home caregiver or their needs
are more than what can be considered safe to be in their home alone at times. Finding a full-time live-
in caregiver means someone cannot have a life of their own to do this. So, let us look at some eye-
openers we all should think about when it becomes an issue for ourselves or a family member. Elderly
care studies today are long-term care, advances in medicine and behaviours health to keep the elderly
active and healthy, and community services needed to be available. Cultural biases towards the elderly
need to be redefined and altered.
Meeting these tasks is not easy to accomplish. We need to learn more to start the process. Here are ten
challenges you need to know when facing this decision.
Financial wellness: pensions, retirement, and social security.
Mobility: inability to get around as much.
Mental stimulation: participate in mental stimulation activities and events.
Caregiving and care coordination: assistance with help in your home.
Mental health and substance abuse: Some elderly abuse their prescription medicine or doctor shop for
new medications.
Physical accidents: the risk of falling at home and no one coming by as often to check up on you.
Elderly abuse: abuse is in their nursing home, assisted living facility, or with a caregiver.
Social isolation: Many elderly have lost their significant other, and their kids are grown, out of the
house, or miles away.
Advance directives in writing: The elderly need to have a living will and advance directives in writing.
Age discrimination: Many elderly still like to work but do employers want to hire them?
This article is dated in 2019, I found one for 2022 of almost the same. This is a continuous problem
today for human services. Staffing is the biggest challenge as it is not a field that can keep caregivers
around because of the work involved. The senior care industry has had to navigate tremendous
challenges over the past year. Covid-19 has played a major role in this even though I was trying to
avoid that topic. Staffing has been the one problem because not only do residents in care facilities get
sick so does staffing. I worked in a place that had three workers out and five to six resident’s sick. To
work harder doing daily care and keeping residents in their rooms for isolation purposes is more
overwhelming than anyone can imagine unless you are there. Residents can get neglected in their
normal care routine and feel the staffing is neglecting their jobs. When you are down to two people
when normally have four, it can come into play with stress and frustration. A resident in any care
facility does not always understand the problem and wants what is promised for care. This is where
burnout comes in. So, it is the work of the caregiver or PCA to do their best and the nursing staff to
assist in this problem until the "bug" passes. Outside agencies are another solution, but you never
know what you'll get from my experience. Sadly, there are only a few that work out great. Nursing
facilities can be hard work in some ways, depending on the need of what a resident requires. You need
to have the endurance and consistency to be a part of a staff of caregivers and PCA to do this job.
Cerulli, P. (November 28, 2021) Challenges Facing Senior Care in 2022
www.iadvanceseniorcare.com/challenges-facing-senior-care-in-2022/
The Western PA Healthcare News Team (September 30, 2019) Elderly Care Issues: 10 Challenges to
Elderly Care in the U.S. wphealthcarenews.com
mental health like being medication or not medicated and the outcomes for people being better or
insufficient. This article talks about a study on a holistic self-learning approach to coping with mental
health issues. A package of biopsychosocial services for young adults experiencing psychological
distress was evaluated and compared to usual outpatient psychiatric care. Young adults (18–25) with
moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression and/or anxiety were enrolled in a 13-week intervention
consisting of nutritional coaching and multi-vitamin supplements, weekly educational and peer
support groups, and a modest financial stipend to engage in physical or expressive activities. A
comparison group continued with their usual medication-based outpatient care. Program participants
reported significantly improved depression, anxiety, the severity of distress, overall quality of life, and
empowerment over 4 months, with progress maintained or further improved at the 2-month follow-up.
No evidence of change in any outcome was observed for comparison group participants. This study
made me think about how important it is to be impartial to people's opinions when you are on your
own mental health journey and how important it is to try what feels right for you.
The second article was about Insufficient sleep. Insufficient sleep is a serious health problem for
college students. Exercise is a widely prescribed behavioural treatment for sleep and mood issues;
however, more focused and gender-specific prescriptions are needed. The present article talks about
the relationships between exercise, sleep, and mood in undergraduate men and women. The inability
or lack of sleep can lead to symptoms, like lack of energy or motivation, that mimic those of
depression. Other conditions that interrupt your sleep, including sleep apnea and sleep movement
disorders, can also contribute to depression. Depression is a group of conditions associated with the
elevation or lowering of a person's mood. It is important to note that depression is one of the leading
causes of disability in the world. A common mental disorder, that is estimated to affect 5% of adults
who have a mental disorder. It is characterized by persistent sadness and a lack of interest or pleasure
in previously rewarding or enjoyable activities.
These topics impact the work of human service agencies because they need to provide this care and
treatment and support for the people struggling with these issues and many more. Families that have a
member that is struggling or an adult that has never known a great night's sleep. No matter the topic if
it is an issue a human service agency that specializes in individual and group and family support with
mental health will be providing opportunities for these people to change their lives. if there is a need
for assistance it is within the work of human services, especially if it is global problem.
References
Glavin, E. E., Matthew, J., & Spaeth, A. M. (2022). Gender Differences in the Relationship Between
Exercise, Sleep, and Mood in Young Adults. Health Education & Behaviour, 49(1), 128–140.
Hughes, S., Rondeau, M., Shannon, S., Sharp, J., Ivins, G., Lee, J., Taylor, I., & Bendixsen, B. (2021).
A Holistic Self-Learning Approach for Young Adult Depression and Anxiety Compared to
Medication-Based Treatment-As-Usual. Community Mental Health Journal, 57(2), 392–402.
https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1007/s10597-020-00666-9
