Dual Relationships: Personal and Professional Boundaries in Rural Social Work

Social workers in rural areas often live and work in the communities that they serve. Consequently, they may have, or later develop, dual relationships with service users. These ‘out of hours’ connections raise some complex issues about how social workers conduct their practice and comport themselves socially within the wider community. This paper reviews the notion of dual relationships and assesses the schema proposed for assessing their ethical probity. Its conclusion is that the practical realities of rural practice challenge absolutist conceptions of confidentiality and undermine assumptions of objectivity and neutrality in professional stance.