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“They certainly can. I work in a Community College and the distinction between student and staff/faculty is not so obvious. Students are just other people like me, and I enjoy getting to know them when I have the opportunity. If I were doing therapy with them, it would be a different story.” – John Wick, Naugatuck Valley Community Technical College, Jan 6 “As long as you can maintain authority. It is great to work with students on a more personal level, it allows you to do more for students. However, there are times when being their friend could cause difficulties. For example, I work with probation students, some of which get suspended. It makes it tough to be their friend while you are suspending them. They can take it more personally when you have a friendly relationship established.” – Kathy Leathers, University of Colorado at Denver, Jan 13 “At the risk of sounding Clintonesque, it depends on your definition of 'friend.' As a student (traditional and later adult), I had advisors, mentors with whom I had close relationships. We liked, trusted, and held each other in high regard. We had excellent professional relationships, but we were by no means buddies or friends in that sense. This has been so for me as a counselor as well. I have counseled people with whom I have developed close, positive relationships. But the very strength of those relationships has been the shared knowledge of our roles. Just as it is true that you cannot and should not try to be a professional counselor to a close friend or family member, you should not confuse a professional counseling relationship with friendship. They are different. For good reason.” – Dale H. Walker, USAF, Jan 25 The Mentor is published by Penn State's Division of Undergraduate Studies Available online at www.psu.edu/dus/mentor/ Privacy and Legal Statements | Copyright | © The Pennsylvania State University | All rights reserved | |
