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

13.06.2025 13:12

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

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

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

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

How did the DMK alliance manage to keep the BJP out of Tamil Nadu politics all these years? Is the picture now changing in Tamil Nadu after the entry of Annamalai?

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

Serious disappointment when the client cancels a session.

Off the top of my ancient head:

Why are we explaining today’s “climate change” as driven by human related “green house” gasses when natural “global warming” pushed sea level up to the “shores” of Topeka with no human contribution or even presence? Is Occam’s Rasor applied?

Obsessing about clients outside of work hours.

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.

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

What song are you listening to right now? What does it mean to you?

General Introduction to Boundaries from Panahi Counseling:

Sense of competition with persons who are important in the client’s life.

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

People's mental health often improves after weight-loss surgery. A study pinpoints the real reason why. - Live Science

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