An image of one of our clients was taken and used in last week’s homeless newspaper. I want to discuss if it’s appropriate to bring this to her attention and discuss with her how she felt about the issues of no name burials.  – Reviewing my clinical supervision notes. I am unsure what advice my clinical supervisor gave me, but I am sure it most likely involved boundaries. I did find an entry in my career journal that read

“The client was thrilled; she had no idea they would use her image or her words to depict the story. This makes me wonder if the paper exploiting this population. _________ didn’t seem to mind and we had a wonderful discussion about no name burials- her passion and advocacy is truly alive. She did inquire if I would purchase her a few copies. I informed her of the boundaries of our relationship but encouraged her to call the paper and/or to go their offices and request a copy or two. After all, it was her image that was currently on the front page helping sell the latest edition.”

Today if a student were to ask me this question, I would ask them why is it important to bring this to a client’s attention. What were they hoping for? I have learned as a clinical licensed therapist it is always good to check in with yourself to make sure one doesn’t have alternative motives, as interactions with clients should always be about clients.