Professional Boundaries: What Approach Is Suggested as Professional Boundary
Issues Emerge?
Professional boundary issues can provide a challenging array of issues for practitioners. How
might a practitioner handle a child who conducts a tantrum in group? What of an aggressive outburst?
Should gifts be accepted from children? Because groups may appropriately be conducted at different
ages across a school district, with different developmental age groups, and with an array of issues,
ethical and legal ambiguities can quickly emerge. School psychologists must recognize a need for flexible guidelines for practice that take into account the wide array of developmental and contextual
issues inherent in counseling children. Ideally, a collegial group might consider writing a practice
handbook that will be periodically updated to address issues as they emerge across the district. This
can be nicely accommodated through group supervision.