Is it OK to send Christmas cards to service users?

YES

Gary Clapton, senior lecturer, social work, University of Edinburgh

Here is what happened to me while working as a social worker in Edinburgh in the mid-1980s. On Monday morning I poured an alcoholic’s gin down the toilet and then made her a nutritious scrambled egg on toast breakfast. On Wednesday, one of the young men I was working with got thrown out of his lodgings and stayed the night in our living room on the couch. On Friday at 10 minutes past office closing time, I lent a mother £5 for nappies and baby milk for the weekend. The then director of social work even thanked me when he heard about me putting up Davie for the night. I sent Christmas cards. And received them.

So was this an example of the bad old days before professionalism? Or the good old days before we lost the humanity that should be at the root of social work?

The boundaries between us and “them” have become rigid and alienating, especially in child protection. A common refrain is “I didn’t come into social work to do this” – “this” being investigation and assessment – and no service except surveillance.

In 1985 John Ehrenreich wrote that boundaries are “rationalisations designed to protect the social worker from having to acknowledge the inequality in power and resources between professional and client.” More recently, in 2007, Dr Richard Pugh challenged strict adherence to boundaries while writing in the British Journal of Social Work, and argued that social workers in rural areas tend to have a greater intimacy with the people with whom they work. So what do you do when one of your clients walks into the only pub for miles around? Perhaps not get in a round, but surely, basic decency allows for a greeting. An analogous position, in terms of familiarity, is that of residential care home staff who share intimacies on a daily basis with residents. No problem about exchanging Christmas cards and even gifts there. 

If the word “home” means anything, it must mean as many features of family life as possible. So it ought to be with young people – what is the “corporate parent” if not a real person who not only gives you a card on your birthday or Christmas but takes a genuine concern in your welfare and happiness on these important days.

NO

Dawn Devereux, director of public support and Jonathan Coe, managing director, Clinic for Boundaries Studies

Giving Christmas cards is something most of us do without a great deal of thought. Even those of us who are less enthusiastic about the tradition may participate so as not to offend. The social worker will need to consider the matter from the client’s perspective and begin by asking “how might the client interpret this?”

This is, of course, a question about professional boundaries. Boundaries, contrary to the position argued by Gary Clapton, provide a framework that actively acknowledges the power differentials inherent in practice. Even in residential settings there are complex dynamics at play which necessitate reflection and careful consideration: would all staff give all residents cards? How much is an acceptable limit for gifts? How is a high value gift from a resident to be treated? What about where a staff member spends a lot on one particular resident?

It is a good idea to start with general principles and apply the same reasoning to different situations. An awareness of the power dynamic is crucial. Professional power tends to imbue the social worker’s actions with added significance, making clear boundaries all the more important. As general principles, therefore, we need to be aware that:

• An action outside the professional framework can take on a significance that was never intended.
• An action outside the professional framework is likely to make the client less sure of where the boundaries lie.

So if the first principle is applied specifically to the giving of Christmas cards, we must consider that the social worker may unwittingly make a client feel extra special by doing something that is outside the expected framework. This feeling, while it may be immediately gratifying, is not likely to be in the client’s best interest in the longer term.  This is because it may create a particular attachment to that social worker which in turn may work against the client’s autonomy and self-determination.

On the second principle, a Christmas card is likely to leave the client feeling unsure of where the boundaries lie.  Clients need boundaries in order to feel safe. This is why, on those occasions when some flexibility is genuinely needed, it is important to be explicit about the reason the boundaries are being extended. To give a Christmas card would, however, extend the boundaries for no particular reason. It may also leave the client feeling that the boundaries could suddenly be extended in all kinds of other areas.