Logo

What are some signs that a therapist may have poor boundaries with their clients?

Last Updated: 18.06.2025 01:23

What are some signs that a therapist may have poor boundaries with their clients?

Off the top of my ancient head:

Routinely going over the time limit with certain patients, compromising the time for the next client.

Serious disappointment when the client cancels a session.

How do military families handle communication when a service member is injured overseas?

General Introduction to Boundaries from Panahi Counseling:

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.

You hold the door open for a lady and she stops in her tracks and screams at you, ‘Don’t hold the door for me! I’ll get it myself!’ What are your feelings or immediate reaction?

Eager anticipation (or anxious anticipation) of the next session in ways that distract.

Struggling with fantasies of deeper connections with clients, whether sexual or parental or other intense or intimate relationships beyond psychotherapy.

Frequent phoning or texting of clients to “check up on them and make sure they’re OK.”

What are some photos of female sexual organs?

Obsessing about clients outside of work hours.

Failing to mention the client in supervision/consultation, out of fear the supervisor/consultant will advise return to ordinary healthy boundaries.

Session-expressed curiosities about client details not relevant to the therapy.

Were there any friendly fire incidents involving American submarines, aircraft carriers, or battleships during World War II or World War I?

Disclosing feelings, fantasies, and experiences to the client in ways not related to the work the client is engaged in.