An effective professional relationship is one of the most important skills that social workers can utilize to empower and improve the quality of life of their clients. This qualitative study aimed to understand the characteristics of an effective professional relationship from the perspective of clients of non-governmental organizations. Participants were women over 20years old who had been in contact with social workers for at least six months. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. Ultimately, participants identified three main themes that influenced the professional relationship from their perspective: facilitators of the professional relationship, including kindness, punctuality, emotional control, non-judgment, active listening, understanding and follow-up, encouragement, respectful behavior, etc.; barriers and challenges to the relationship, including bad manners, threats of abandonment, false promises, breach of confidentiality, ignoring the client's speech, and disregarding the termination of the relationship, etc.; and structural conditions, including organizational resources, the power of managers, and the constant change of social workers and human resources conditions.The findings of this research will, first and foremost, help all social workers across their various fields of activity to understand clients' expectations of the professional relationship and grasp their needs in a more tangible manner. Furthermore, in subsequent steps, this research can be utilized in social worker education, professional supervision, and future research.