| Summary: | This study is inspired by research about alliance as a common factor. The purpose is to explore the positive experiences among community-based social support workers when breaking the rules with their clients. The study questions in which situations they broke the rules and how they handled these situations related to their clients and colleges. Qualitative, individual interviews were made with four community-based social support workers who had such experiences. The results were analysed through an hermeneutic approach using Johan Asplund's theory of social responsiveness. The rules were mainly created socially among the colleges and concerned where, when and how they met their clients, and what the workers revealed about their personal life. They broke the rules when following them felt wrong and unpleasant. Breaking the rules created reciprocity in the client-relationship, which strengthened the alliance. Breaking the rules was less problematic when the workers felt supported by colleges than among colleges who acted disapprovingly. The respondents used the rules as something to relate to the client and themselves, instead of applying them in the same way with everyone. This raised questions about how to define professionalism, causes of stigma and how to measure quality in health services.
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