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BJSW Advance Access originally published online on July 31, 2007
British Journal of Social Work 2008 38(7):1425-1441; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcm053
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved.

Trust Development: A Discussion of Three Approaches and a Proposed Alternative

Behnam Behnia

Behnam Behnia’s research focuses on inter-personal trust, social and psychological effects of war and torture, resettlement of immigrants and refugees, social support networks and volunteering. Recent publications include ‘Trust building from the perspective of survivors of war and torture’ (2004, Social Service Review, 78(1), pp. 26–40) and ‘Friends and caring professionals as important support for survivors of war and torture’ (2002, International Journal of Mental Health, 30(4), pp. 3–18).

Correspondence to Behnam Behnia, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada. E-mail: behnam_behnia{at}carleton.ca


  Abstract

The importance of building a trusting relationship with clients has been acknowledged and emphasized by helping professions such as social work, psychotherapy, nursing, and medicine. A review of literature reveals the presence of three approaches to trust development, each emphasizing one of the components of a trusting relationship: the client’s trusting attitude, the professional’s trusting characteristics, and the characteristics of the relationship that exists between the client and the professional. The contention of this paper is that the trust described by these approaches is the initial trust necessary for starting a relationship with a service provider. However, to disclose intimate information, the client and professional need to develop a trust deeper than the initial trust. Drawing on the theoretical insights of the symbolic interactionist perspective, this paper presents a fourth approach to trust development. In this approach, trust is conceived as the outcome of a complex process involving the interpretation of the situation in which the interacting client and service provider find themselves.

Keywords: trust, initial trust, self-concept, perceived self, definition of the situation


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