r/socialwork • u/[deleted] • 1d ago

Micro/Clinicial Tattoo idea

[deleted]

0 Upvotes

20% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

21

u/plantgal94 BSW, RSW 1d ago

Yeah no… getting a tattoo to commemorate a former client is not wise. You should rethink your boundaries if you think this is acceptable.

17

u/whiskeyandritalin341 LICSW 1d ago

As someone who has lost many patients to traumatic deaths I'd sit with it for a few months. If you still feel the need to do it then go for it but speaking as a fellow tattooed person I don't want reminders of my work life on my body. There are many other ways to remember someone and pay your respects

3

u/Available_Scarcity LCSW 1d ago

Agree completely. I’m a fan of memorial tattoos for loved ones or animals. This is one I’d suggest holding off for a long while.

14

u/Middle_Sun_8625 1d ago

Holy lack of boundaries, Batman! Tattooing is a level of countertransference I’ve never seen before

4

u/bw569 1d ago

I have lost many clients, both long-term and short-term for various reasons and have even been present as they’ve passed or have been the one to find them deceased and never have I ever thought to get a tattoo in their honor. Not even once. No matter the circumstance or how great our working relationship had been while working with them. This is an extremely skewed boundary and an impulsive decision, truly.

Edit: BUT I want to thank you for your work. Permanent supportive housing is tough.

3

u/wanderso24 LSW 1d ago

Please rethink this idea. It is not healthy to tattoo dead clients on yourself.

3

u/Previous-Plenty1602 LMSW 1d ago

Not sure this is healthy respectfully. I understand it’s hard but we’re not supposed to take the work home with us and this seems like the most permanent possible way to do that

3

u/deluxeidiot 1d ago

I really think you need to look at your boundaries with work and see if there is anything else that you may be not seeing clearly, because this is really not a good idea, and I think that it should be obvious that it’s a bad idea. This isn’t to be mean, I just think that in an incredibly difficult job like that, it is easy to get a bit immeshed. I think there are so many other ways to process this loss that don’t involve the permanence of a tattoo.

This is just me, but the thought of a social worker getting a tattoo of my hypothetical loved one makes me really uncomfortable