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

10.06.2025 11:37

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

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.

Off the top of my ancient head:

So I’m getting piano lessons and my teacher wants me to get an upright piano instead of a keyboard. An upright piano is way above my price range, so what do I do? And what’s the difference between an upright piano and a keyboard?

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

General Introduction to Boundaries from Panahi Counseling:

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

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

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.

Which branch of engineering is better: ECE or Civil?

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

Serious disappointment when the client cancels a session.

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.

If you get a chance to have sex with either Kajal Agarwal or Samantha, who would you choose and why?

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