What are some signs that a therapist may have poor boundaries with their clients?
09.06.2025 04:11
Off the top of my ancient head:
Frequent phoning or texting of clients to “check up on them and make sure they’re OK.”
Session-expressed curiosities about client details not relevant to the therapy.
Why do I sweat between my legs all the time, top off my legs, all way down?
Eager anticipation (or anxious anticipation) of the next session in ways that distract.
Failing to mention the client in supervision/consultation, out of fear the supervisor/consultant will advise return to ordinary healthy boundaries.
These items can happen fleetingly, briefly, in any therapy, but if they’re frequent, it’s definitely time for the therapist to get some good, solid supervision/consultation.
Sense of competition with persons who are important in the client’s life.
Serious disappointment when the client cancels a session.
Routinely going over the time limit with certain patients, compromising the time for the next client.
In your opinion, who is the most overrated singer/band/artist in modern music history and why?
Struggling with fantasies of deeper connections with clients, whether sexual or parental or other intense or intimate relationships beyond psychotherapy.
Obsessing about clients outside of work hours.
Disclosing feelings, fantasies, and experiences to the client in ways not related to the work the client is engaged in.
Why don't I want to talk to my girlfriend when she loves me a lot? I feel bored.
General Introduction to Boundaries from Panahi Counseling: