Types of Relationship – Level 3 Health and Social Care Cambridge Technical Revision

Professional Relationships

Are between care practitioners and service users, or between colleagues in the care setting.
Governed by professional boundaries which must be respected.
Often regulated by professional codes of conduct.
Should remain objective and unbiased, and personal feelings or opinions should not interfere.
Needs to involve mutual respect, good communication and understanding.
Includes aspects such as confidentiality, appropriate behaviour, and maintaining a professional distance.

Develops between friends, family members, or romantic partners.
May also develop as a result of a long-term care relationship, although professional boundaries must be respected.
Can provide necessary emotional support and companionship to service users.
Usually characterised by mutual understanding, emotional attachment, and closeness.

Therapeutic relationships are created between care practitioners and service users with a specific goal to support healing or recovery.
Requires high levels of trust and reliability.
Often has a structured nature, including durations, frequency, venue, and purpose of meetings which are pre-decided.
Care practioners must display empathy, patience, non-judgemental attitude and excellent listening skills.
Important for effective delivery of therapies or treatments.

Casual relationships might occur in care settings between service users, or between service users and staff outside a professional context.
These relationships would typically be non-committal and less focused on deeper emotional connections.
They can provide social interaction, light-hearted conversation, and an ease from the more intense, formal relations in the care setting.

Involuntary relationships are those where there’s some level of compulsion involved, e.g. a patient assigned to a particular doctor or a child under foster care.
These relationships might not develop out of personal preference, but over a period, they might evolve into significant relationships.
They require special considerations to ensure the well-being and comfort of the service user involved.

These are increasingly common in modern healthcare, often as part of telehealth services or online support groups.
Require careful handling, particularly around issues of confidentiality, privacy, and security.
Can offer greater accessibility for service users who may be unable to travel or live in remote locations.

These are created between care provider organisations, statutory bodies, and service users.
They typically involve a legally binding agreement or contract which set out the rights and responsibilities of all involved parties.
They are essential for maintaining standards of care, ensuring accountability, and protecting the rights of service users.

These typically form between service users and friends, neighbours or family members who assist in any informal capacity.
They play a crucial role as they are often driven by affection, empathy and the inherent motivation to help another person.
They usually do not involve a professional contract and are often not remunerated.