Relationships are central to social work; it is what we do. The social work relationship is often a site of rekindling hope but also building resilience or standing against oppression. Regardless of the field of practice, quality relationships are an essential prerequisite for effectiveness. This has been emphasised in social work literature for over a century. Our values shape the type of relationships we want. Unlike most other professions, good interpersonal relationships are ontological to social work. This is because we advocate doing things ‘with’ clients rather than ‘to’ or ‘for’ clients. Over recent decades, the profession has developed a sophisticated and critical analysis of social work relationships, elucidating power imbalances arising from culture, ethnicity, gender and identity. These considerations expose the potential for the social work relationship to reproduce discrimination and exploitation. Micro and macro relationships for social work occur with individuals, groups, communities, other professions, governments, agencies and even nation states.