Navigating Dual Relationships in Counselling: Ethical Guidance for Practitioners

As a counsellor or psychotherapist, you’re trained to maintain professional boundaries to protect the integrity of the therapeutic relationship. Yet, dual relationships – where you know a client in another context – are sometimes unavoidable, especially in rural, marginalised, or close-knit communities.

This article explores the ethical complexities and practical implications of dual relationships, drawing on real-life scenarios and authoritative guidance. Whether you’re a trainee therapist or seasoned practitioner, this article equips you to handle these dilemmas with clarity and professionalism.

Learning Outcomes: What You’ll Gain

By reading this post, you’ll:

• Understand the various forms and risks associated with dual relationships.
• Recognise how dual relationships can impact the therapeutic alliance.
• Learn how UK professional bodies view and regulate dual relationships.
• Gain practical strategies to manage unavoidable dual roles.
• Explore reflective questions to guide ethical decision-making in practice.

The Ethical Landscape: Understanding Dual Relationships and Their Impact

A dual relationship occurs when a therapist interacts with a client in another capacity, such as social, professional, financial, or supervisory. These roles may be held simultaneously or sequentially. Common examples include working with a friend, colleague, or family member, or having overlapping connections through supervision.

While not inherently unethical, dual relationships can blur boundaries, undermine objectivity, and erode trust – particularly when prior knowledge affects how a client is perceived or treated.

Key Risks to Your Practice

Drawing from real-world examples shared by Ken Kelly and Rory Lees-Oakes, several risks become clear:

1. Loss of Objectivity: Prior relationships can cloud judgement, making it challenging to offer impartial support.
2. Power Imbalance and Exploitation: The natural power differential in therapy is magnified in dual roles, potentially leading to unintentional exploitation.
3. Confidentiality Breaches: Overlapping relationships increase the likelihood of confidentiality being compromised – sometimes inadvertently, as in supervisory contexts.
4. Blurred Boundaries: Clients may struggle to determine whether they are being heard as a client, friend, or peer.
5. Damage to the Therapeutic Alliance: When trust is broken, clients may disengage from therapy prematurely, leaving them disillusioned.

Even well-intentioned disclosures between supervisors and therapists can compromise the therapeutic process when client information is shared inappropriately.

Navigating Social Media: The Overlooked Dual Relationship

In today’s digital landscape, maintaining a clear separation between professional and personal online presence is crucial. Social media can unwittingly become a channel for dual relationships, especially if clients encounter therapists in informal online spaces or view their content.

The BACP ethical framework advises therapists to take reasonable care to separate personal and professional identities online, particularly where harmful dual relationships could develop. This includes reviewing privacy settings, establishing clear boundaries in digital communication, and refraining from personal connections with clients on social media platforms.

Consider asking yourself: Could a client misinterpret something I’ve posted? Might our online interaction blur boundaries?

Guidance from Ethical Bodies: What the BACP, UKCP, and NCPS Say

All major UK professional organisations acknowledge the challenges of dual relationships and advise practitioners to proceed with caution:

• BACP: Emphasises establishing appropriate boundaries, avoiding dual roles when harm outweighs benefit, and using supervision to reflect on emerging risks.
• UKCP: Warns of confusion and adverse impacts, urging practitioners to take responsibility for managing unavoidable dualities, especially in small communities.
• NCPS: Prohibits crossing therapeutic boundaries and emphasises non-exploitation in any form, including emotional, financial, or sexual misconduct.

These frameworks provide the ethical scaffolding needed to make informed decisions in complex relational dynamics.

Managing the Unavoidable: Dual Relationships in the Real World

In some contexts, dual relationships are inescapable. What then?

Use of Remote Therapy

Remote therapy offers a practical solution. It enables therapists to expand their reach beyond immediate communities, thereby reducing the likelihood of role conflicts. With proper training in online and telephone counselling, practitioners can maintain ethical boundaries while serving broader client populations.

Supervisory Complications

A lesser-discussed challenge is when a supervisor has a past or current relationship with a client. Disclosure of client history without consent – even in supervision – can irreparably damage therapeutic trust. Ethical supervision requires strict confidentiality and, when necessary, referral to an alternative supervisor.

Reflective Practice and Peer Support

When dual roles surface, immediate consultation with your supervisor or a trusted colleague is crucial. The following questions can guide ethical reflection:

• Could this relationship impair my judgement or harm the client?
• How might this affect confidentiality and trust?
• Would I be comfortable explaining this to my professional body?
• Is the client empowered to make informed choices?
• What alternatives do I have, and what does my supervisor advise?

Keeping detailed notes and documenting your ethical reasoning helps demonstrate accountability and transparency.

Practical Scenarios: Applying Ethics to Real Life

Practical examples a therapist may encounter:

1. Counselling a Friend: Risks include avoiding challenging questions and compromising confidentiality.
2. Therapy for a Colleague: Workplace hierarchies can distort dynamics and lead to ethical grey areas.
3. Supporting a Family Member: Prior knowledge may bias interpretation, and clients may self-censor due to familiarity with the situation.

These scenarios remind us that dual relationships can develop subtly, often becoming apparent only after several sessions. In such cases, abrupt termination may not be in the best interest of the client. Instead, a considered management strategy, supported by supervision, is often more appropriate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Remarks: A Call to Ethical Vigilance

Dual relationships are not automatically unethical, but they are inherently complex. Navigating them requires reflection, consultation, and above all, prioritising the client’s welfare. As practitioners, we must strike a balance between compassion and ethical clarity, ensuring that our work upholds the safety, dignity, and growth of those we serve.

References and Further Reading

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. (2018). Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. BACP Website

UK Council for Psychotherapy. (2019). Code of Ethics. UKCP Website

National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society. (n.d.). Code of Ethics. NCPS Website

Counselling Tutor. (2025). The Danger of Dual Relationships [Transcript]

Counselling Tutor. (n.d.). Dual Relationships in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Understanding Boundaries, Ethics and Good Practice

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