It's A Thin Line!

You and I now live in a world where complaints and allegations about this or that are commonplace.

There are complaints about your practice, about things you do and have neglected to do. As well as allegations made which have the potential to result in seriously jeopardising your livelihood.

Allegations and complaints then can have a powerful impact on you as a practitioner. They are undoubtedly upsetting and consequently your initial reaction is likely to be one of shock and anger.

“Why the hell has this happened to me?”

You might ask as your mind and emotions flail around for a while, trying to come to terms with the seriousness of the situation and deal with your frustration, anger and fear.

Eventually you realise you have to calm yourself down, absorb the reality of the situation and begin to get your head round whatever you need to do to effectively argue your case and protect yourself.

It’s never an easy predicament to be in, as anyone who has been in that position will testify. But sooner or later you recognise you have to decide as best you can to put your feelings to one side and focus on the complaint or allegation made about you.

It helps to have the capacity to look at the complaint dispassionately. This entails really considering the complaint, but also being mindful of your duties, time pressures, including the demands of your role and the environment you are working in.

Let’s say, for example, that you have been accused of ignoring a client’s wishes and being dictatorial, and you know that’s one of the last ways you would ever want to be, or to come across as such.

Then I think it would be a good idea to consider how it has come about.

Could it have been something you did inadvertently?

Was it the case that your actions were misinterpreted?

Or was it that you worked with someone suffering with mental ill health, or simply that you are the victim of a malicious or spiteful person?

All practitioners are probably only too well aware that in relation to your clients, this is an area which represents your Achilles Heel. And the disturbing thing is you can get accused of impropriety when just trying to improve a child or an adult’s circumstances, or the support available to them.

Often because of your insight, knowledge and skills you can see how your client could be better assisted to achieve something they say they want.

But the problem is, for whatever reason, they don’t see it as that way...and it is at that point where you are at risk, or in danger!

Now you might think I’m being overly dramatic here...and maybe 8 or 9 times out of 10 you’d be correct. Unfortunately, it only takes one person out of all the people you work with and have worked with, to decide that your actions are abusive, and you’re then on a slippery slope and likely to end up with a complaint made against you. ?

Even very gentle encouragement can be misconstrued as having crossed the line...and the things is your idea of where the line is, may be very different from where your client thinks it is.

So although you have only the best interests of your client in mind, you can be in danger of crossing their line and what you have to bear in mind is, it can be a very thin line between being supportive and being abusive, in the eyes of some of the people you work with!

There by the grace of god do we as practitioners go!

I wrote this article because it’s something we all need to bear in mind – just one more responsibility placed on your bowing shoulders. We all walk a thin line whether we are aware of it or not!

How has this thin line impacted your practice? ?