Over the last 20 years, I’ve had clients offer a variety of gifts . . . a bottle of wine, Christmas ornaments, their own artwork, frequent flier points on airlines, a digital camera, tickets to community events, a muffin from the local bakery, homemade cakes, and books. Early in my career, I was often
caught off guard. I didn’t know how to clinically or legally deal with these situations. For the longest time, I only knew I wasn’t supposed to accept gifts from clients. But no one told me how (or when) I was supposed to refuse them.
Ofer Zur has published a terrific article called Gifts in Psychotherapy that addresses this very issue. Do yourself and your clients a favor. Take time to read and digest this meaty article. Then, I hope you will check back in here and let me know one thing that you learned or needed to be reminded from reading the article.
Thank you Tamara for this post! It’s such an important topic. I have received and accepted small gifts. Some of them are very dear to me and I still have them. Things such as a heart made from raffia and flowers, a Christmas bag, a drawing by a child I saw. All of the gifts that I’ve received have been from the heart, nothing of any monetary value. These small gifts, thank you notes, and follow-up messages to let me know how they are doing are much appreciated and treasured.
Welcome back, Ana! It’s good to hear from you! So have you ever been offered something that you were uncomfortable with? Have you ever accepted something that, in hindsight, you regretted? Or, have you ever accepted something without processing it clinically with your client?