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Section 10
Track #10 - Accepting

Question 10 found at the bottom of this page
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Next let's look at acceptance and how it affects the setting of ethical boundaries. As you know, acceptance involves recognition of the uniqueness of your client. The genuineness of acceptance and concern for the client is a vital ingredient in the development of boundaries.

Obviously acceptance is not "liking" or "approving" of the client's behavior. When you find yourself thinking "I cannot accept the child rapist" for example, you may be blurring acceptance with liking or approving. We accept the reality of the individual's situation, but in acceptance you do not judge the client as being right or wrong, or good or bad, it's just a fact of what happened.

Here's an example I recently ran into in the court system of judging based upon personal values. A custody judge had to make a decision in which both parents had died in a car accident. The six-year-old girl had to be placed with a family member. The judge made a decision against the low socio-economic family for the child custody case, calling the family seeking custody the kind of family that had priscilla curtains in the window. The implication in the judge's voice of "priscilla curtains" was that they were cheap and tacky. Thus, the message was given that the family was not capable of loving and providing a good home life for the child because they were poor. The self-assessment point to be made here is as follows: Do I find myself not accepting my client's actions or situations? Do I end up not accepting the client and judging them?

QUESTION 10
The boundary of acceptance is not to be confused with what? To select and enter your answer go to Answer Booklet.