Providing Psychological Care Remotely
Overview of Remote MHPSS
First Session of Remote Support
Lesson 6: What boundaries to maintain during remote care
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Boundaries are agreed upon limits between a helper and the person accessing care, and ensures a safe and supportive environment. It is the responsibility of the helper to maintain boundaries.
Boundaries are important for building and maintaining trust in the relationship.
Not respecting boundaries has the potential to create harm. For example, helpers can become burnt out and people accessing care can become dependent on their services.
When providing remote care:
- Boundaries may be more difficult to keep due to the potential lack of physical boundaries between work and home (eg. helpers may be providing sessions from home).
- It is essential to plan how you will maintain personal-professional boundaries, to support wellbeing of yourself and the person you are supporting, and ensure effectiveness of the care provided.
- Once you have determined your boundaries, plan how you will communicate these to the people you work with. It might be helpful to write down a “speech” and practice explaining your boundaries in front of the mirror. For example, "I will only be working from 9am - 5pm so my phone will be switched off outside of these hours. If you need support outside of these hours, please contact this helpline...".
Helpers should maintain boundaries as they would during face-to-face sessions. This includes not oversharing personal information, wearing appropriate clothing and making sure nothing inappropriate is indirectly shared (eg. if using video, make sure family photos are not in the picture).