Gifts from clients to RP's

Should gifts be allowed

There is a grey area I feel. It depends on the gift. A box of chocolates is in my opinion ok but anything more personal or grander no. Thank them. Explain, it’s not ethical. Thank you very much. Or explain that you may donate the gift to a charity.

What if it was a big box of chocolates?

I’m greedy

Sandramcneill75 wrote:I’m greedy

I don't believe that. It's about perceived value. How expensive does something have to be before it is too much? Or does personally accepting a gift however small or large have implications. Value, as a term, has different levels for different people. It's more to do with the principles of the exchange. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
You can accept so as not to cause offense, but make it clear it is not a personal acceptance but on behalf of Shape and you will be sharing them with colleagues or donating to charity etc

This can be a tricky one . It depends on the motivation for a client to give you a gift. For example is the client trying to seek your approval and please you? Is it given at an early stage of the sessions? If so that could be problematic as it has the potential to create lax boundaries. Given at the end of sessions may have a cultural value to the client. An RP should explore their motivations for accepting or rejecting gifts i.e. whose needs are being served? Is it to avoid hurting the clients feelings? Is it because clear boundaries are not in place? Is it because you actually want the gift? Like I said earlier it is not as cut and dry as it seems.

I received a box of chocolates at Christmas
I thanked the client and said I would share with the team