Improving Professional Boundaries workshop
With the increased use of social media and other traditional influences, there is often a blurring of boundaries and confusion on how best to negotiate this grey area at work, where professional and personal boundaries may cross. This training workshop will benefit any workplace by increasing an understanding of professional boundaries and the many ways in which they can be encountered.
Boundary issues will be explored and there will be examples of best practice offered throughout the training. The programme provides a safe space for participants to look at their own practice in relation to professional boundaries with situations they have encountered or are currently working with. This training is interactive with explanation, discussion, some group exercises and use of ‘real’ scenarios experienced or anticipated by participants. Due to the personal nature of the content, an element of self-care is also an integral part of the workshop.
Suitable for: All organisations that wish to promote professional and ethical boundaries in their workplace. Especially beneficial to Human Resource Staff, Management (all levels), Support Workers, Social Care Workers, Addiction Workers, Family Care Workers, Education and Medical Workers.
Members of The Psychological Society of Ireland and The Addiction Counsellors of Ireland (ACI) can earn Learning Credits/CPD points for particpating in this workshop.
"Our trainer, Liam, made us feel relaxed and comfortable. It was a great opportunity for our team to bond and to get an understanding of how other members viewed boundaries and how they coped in situations where their own boundaries were challenged. I felt much more confident leaving the session."
Dymphna Whitehouse, Receptionist, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Outreach Project (DROP.ie)
March 2024
“I liked the fact that the tutor had an addiction background and had many examples to help the group understand the topic at hand. I also liked that a lot of what was discussed is used throughout the workforce and that we got to hear about other scenarios which made us think of how we would best handle those situations.”
Ursula Higgins, CE Supervisor, Clondalkin Tus Nua,
September 2023
“The trainer was excellent and provided practical examples of his own work experience that I could understand and equate my own practice with. His years of experience working with vulnerable individuals really shone through. Trainer was honest and real and very respectful of the work experiences of the group. Breakout room sessions were short and kept people interested. Also, the scenario used to break down the reflective practice piece brought some fun into a heavy topic.”
Patricia McKeever, SHINE
November 2021
What the training will cover
- The importance of maintaining professional boundaries
- How to define what are good/not so good boundaries
- Highlight some of the areas where boundaries become blurred and offer ways of proactively dealing with these
- How to identify where a person’s boundaries are not clear and describe appropriate responses to this
- How to define a “best practice” approach boundaries
- Why it is important to have an effective framework in relation professional boundaries, i.e. knowledge of organisations’ policies with regard to boundaries, confidentiality, duty of care, consent to share information, children etc.
- Practical skills in maintaining professional boundaries, i.e. record keeping, ethical boundaries etc.
- Improving personal boundaries, i.e. self‐disclosure i.e. what we are willing to disclose about ourselves, advice on maintaining an effective working relationship with your supervisors/staff
How these skills and approaches could help at work
The aims of the programme are
- To build on and expand existing knowledge of why boundaries are important in the workplace.
- To enhance participants' confidence in relation to understanding their professional boundaries and the way in which these are respected and guarded and why it is important to staff and the organisation.
- To enable attendees to identify positive and negative behaviour in relation to an individual’s boundaries i.e. to know how to identify behaviour that suggest an individual's boundaries are becoming inappropriate. To know how to raise concerns in a professional manner, and where to seek advice and information about boundary issues as they arise
- To increase awareness of workplace policies and procedures with regard to boundaries in order to help to foster a consistent approach to boundary issues across the participant’s place of work.
What is involved
The participants will be asked to contribute to the training both in group work and individual contributions.
The training will enable participants to contribute by using examples of situations that they have or are currently encountering in relation to professional boundaries.
The training will allow some experiential learning that will encourage participants to put what they have learned in the workshop into practice.
There will be information on further learning and reading that will be distributed/emailed on the training day.
The trainer will be flexible to the needs of the group and will respond accordingly.
Tailoring the training content
As all of our training is bespoke, we will consult you prior to delivery. A review of current practice within your organisation is offered and we will work with you to build a programme which meets any identified needs.
The Learning Curve Institute also offers a bespoke post-course support system whereby participants are provided with the contact details of the trainer and can contact them with questions they may have at any point subsequent to the training day.