How Can Professional Boundaries Be Maintained With Clients?
Navigating the delicate balance between care and professional distance, we've gathered insights from eight mental health experts on maintaining boundaries with clients. From the advice of a Registered Psychotherapist on proactively discussing boundaries to a Psychotherapist's call to set the therapeutic framework from day one, these tips are invaluable for any mental health professional.
- Proactively Discuss Boundaries
- Establish Clear Boundaries Early
- Model Thoughtful Boundary Setting
- Client Is Not Your Friend
- Communicate Role and Boundaries Clearly
- Use Self-Disclosure Judiciously
- Turn Off Professional Notifications
- Set Therapeutic Framework from Day One
Proactively Discuss Boundaries
Professional boundaries are crucial, especially in a time when many feel lonely and isolated due to the shift to remote work. Therapists often become the primary confidants, seeking a genuine connection that may blur ethical lines. Proactively discussing boundaries and responsibilities is key. I make it clear that setting boundaries is essential to upholding ethics and providing the best therapy. These sessions will have a greater impact on mental health if we follow a process of self-reflection and stay focused on the client's needs.
If you find yourself in a situation that seems unclear, reach out to a colleague, community group, or governing body. You are stronger and safer when you follow the rules to protect yourself.
People are sharing their lives with us. It is something that requires honor.
Establish Clear Boundaries Early
Maintaining professional boundaries is crucial for a safe and effective therapeutic environment. One key piece of advice is to establish and communicate clear boundaries from the outset. According to the American Psychological Association, about 70% of therapists face challenges in maintaining these boundaries. At JK Counseling, we emphasize setting expectations early, including session duration, communication protocols, and confidentiality limits.
Research shows that boundary crossings can occur in up to 30% of therapeutic relationships, potentially undermining the therapy. To prevent this, it's essential to regularly revisit and reinforce these boundaries, especially in complex cases. For instance, keeping a clear line between professional and personal interactions is vital to avoid ethical dilemmas and maintain objectivity.
Additionally, seeking supervision or consultation when boundary issues arise is a best practice, providing support and ensuring accountability. By consistently upholding boundaries, therapists can foster a stable and effective therapeutic environment for their clients.
Model Thoughtful Boundary Setting
Maintaining boundaries with clients is important for the work that I do. I hope that my clients are able to set boundaries with those in their lives and find peace through the practice of setting boundaries. By having boundaries with clients, we are modeling that boundaries can be established in a thoughtful and kind way. We are showing our clients that we respect the work we do together and that boundaries can support positive relationships.
Many clients express fear when thinking about setting boundaries. As a relational therapist, I work to help clients feel comfortable in our relationship to explore boundaries, and part of that is by having good boundaries myself. Having good boundaries with clients is also essential to protect yourself from feelings of burnout. This career can be emotionally draining, and if there are not clear boundaries around outside communication with clients, it can become emotionally overwhelming.
Client Is Not Your Friend
Remember that the client is not your friend. We are friendly with them, we treat them with empathy and respect, but we must remain "objective." You can't do that with a friend, as the communication often becomes "subjective." Be honest and open with the client at all times. Make sure they understand the scope of the "relationship," including that you are there, as their therapist, to tell them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
Communicate Role and Boundaries Clearly
From the time you speak to the potential client to the initial intake, and as needed throughout the therapeutic relationship, you need to let them know your role, your boundaries, and your commitment to be there for them within the boundaries you have set. It may be good to have an addendum on professional boundaries added to your paperwork that explains your boundaries and defines your therapeutic relationship to your clients, in addition to the content in your informed consent.
Use Self-Disclosure Judiciously
There are many well-documented boundaries therapists need to maintain to provide solid, ethical care, but I do think there can be a gray area around self-disclosure. Giving the client some information about you as a human being, provided it's being done for a clinical reason, can be advantageous to the work and the therapeutic relationship. Clients can see their therapist as a person rather than a blank sounding board. That can provide a modeling opportunity to encourage changing behaviors, as well as strengthen the client-therapist connection.
Turn Off Professional Notifications
The best thing I ever did to maintain professional boundaries (and enjoy my life outside of therapy sessions!) was to turn off phone notifications for my professional line. I use Google Voice for my work phone and have the settings for call forwarding turned off. Clients are able to call me on the phone, but if I am not on the Google Voice website on my computer, my phone will not ring.
I can only make outward calls from my computer and do not worry about receiving client calls or texts during non-work hours. As an individual therapist, my work is not to provide crisis intervention, and my clients have access to crisis support if needed. All of my clients know they can contact me via text or voicemail anytime without bothering me since I don't get alerts, but I will only respond during business hours. I check my work phone when I am in a place to respond to messages rather than responding in the moment.
Set Therapeutic Framework from Day One
The therapeutic relationship is one that takes immense care to cultivate and maintain. Therapeutic boundaries are crucial for creating a safe and effective environment in therapy, and it starts from day 1. When beginning to work with a client, it is crucial for the therapist to set the tone early on about the frame of their relationship, the goals for treatment, time points for evaluation and reassessment, and termination. What this can look like is both in the administrative side of email communication, use of an EHR that has automated messages and a client portal, as well as reviewing expectations at the beginning of clinical engagement.
Concretely, this means limiting contact outside of session through a portal, as well as setting hours of work, cancellation policies, and availability and expectations for emergencies or contact between sessions. By setting limits on time, communication, and personal involvement, therapists create a structured space conducive to healing. Professional boundaries support the client's autonomy and encourage them to take responsibility for their own progress.