Social worker disciplined for boundary violations with vulnerable client

A social worker who failed to terminate a professional relationship with a vulnerable client after he said he loved her has been disciplined by a regulatory agency.

The woman, an employee at the House of Friendship in Kitchener at the time, engaged in long-term boundary violations with the male client, according to the discipline committee of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.

The committee found she committed professional misconduct. It reprimanded her, suspended her certificate of registration for five months and ordered her to pay the college $5,000.

The client was a vulnerable man who sought help with housing, employment, substance misuse and mental health issues. He lived in an apartment connected to a House of Friendship program for people with low incomes.

The woman was a housing support worker and/or life skills and community worker. In 2020, she exchanged text messages with him “which included extensive self-disclosure and dealt with topics of a personal nature,” the committee said in a ruling last week.

“During the professional relationship with the client, you practised and provided social work services while in a conflict of interest, in that you failed to adequately address the client’s disclosure that he loved you … ” the committee said.

“Instead, you continued to engage in text exchanges with the client that were highly personal.”

The woman failed to terminate the professional relationship “when the overtures or provocative sexual behaviour by the client toward you became intrusive to the professional relationship,” the committee said.

She frequently went to his apartment to socialize, apparently before he said he loved her, and saw him for “extended periods” during and/or outside of work hours. At least once, she bought him cannabis. She also disclosed information about her health.

“Hey I hope your night goes well,” she wrote in a text. “Sorry I wasn’t the most helpful, I’m going to go home and sit in front of my happy light and hope the depression is sucked out of me by tomorrow.”

In October 2020, she told her manager the client had said he loved her. She objected to her manager’s suggestion that the client be removed from her caseload. The manager put her under close supervision.

In December, the client again expressed romantic interest in her. She told her manager. When the client was removed from her caseload, she was seen crying at work.

The discipline committee said she had “failed to record the full scope of her interactions and correspondences with the client, including timing, topic and length of these exchanges.”

The House of Friendship terminated her employment in January 2021. Reasons included her dealings with the vulnerable client and her resistance to the suggestion he be removed from her caseload.

“The registrant developed a personal relationship with a vulnerable client, engaged in long-term boundary violations and failed to respond professionally to the client’s declaration of romantic feelings,” the committee said.

“In doing this the registrant fell below the standards expected of a member of the social work profession and put the public confidence in the profession at risk.”

The committee cited the “inherent power imbalance” between the social worker and the vulnerable client.

Before returning to social work, the woman must complete a boundaries and ethics training course and take psychotherapy. On the job, she will be supervised for one year.