1. Desire to help. Why do people choose to be psychologists? One common answer is that psychologists want to help others. However, desire to help can also create vulnerability. As Behnke (2008) observed, “There’s no one thing that has gotten more psychologists in [ethical] trouble than the desire to be helpful.”
A typical example is the well-intentioned boundary violation. Under normal circumstances, a good person who wants to be helpful may lend small amounts of money to a friend or accept an invitation to a social function. Psychology students are trained, as a general rule, not to cross such boundaries in professional circumstances because doing so may reduce treatment effectiveness, harm clients, or lead to being manipulated. Learning the skills to properly channel our desire to help others is not easy, especially when emotions, deep value differences, or interpersonal conflicts are involved.