3 May 2021

Prison counsellor advised to receive ethical and boundary training

7:17 pm on 3 May 2021

A counsellor who developed a personal relationship with a prisoner she was treating has been advised to undergo training or stop working.

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Photo: 123RF

Between January and April 2018, the prisoner called the counsellor 56 times from a jail telephone.

The conversations were recorded and deemed both personal and domestic.

When the man was then moved to a less secure residential facility, the counsellor visited and sent him gifts and money.

Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Kevin Allan said in his recommendation the woman should receive further training on ethical and boundary issues if she wanted to continue working as a counsellor.