Where do we draw lines: professional relationship boundaries and the child and youth care practitioner

The question of professional relationship boundaries is a poignant one, in light of the many boundary grey-zones that are created by the variety of young people’s needs, practice settings and professional relationship contexts within the field of child and youth care. In order to support practitioners’ development of critical thought and awareness of professional boundaries, this paper applies a professional relationship boundaries conceptual framework to child and youth care work, and the literature is consulted to explore the impacts of boundary violations, influences on individual’s boundaries, cues to indicate blurring boundaries, and key strategies to maintain balanced boundaries.