Posted by shadows721 on May 1, 2004, at 8:59:47
In reply to non-sexual boundry crossing, posted by lucy stone on May 1, 2004, at 8:05:28
Excellent point Lucy. Yes, there are non-sexual boundaries are important as well. The therapy setting is where most of us actually learn about boundaries. Some of us, like myself included, never even heard the word boundary before therapy. I am sure for some this is a foreign word still. What are they really talking about?
I hear people say, "My therapist forced me to discuss such in such." No, that shouldn't be either. No one can force you to discuss something you don't want to. There are mental boundary too. Therapists are supposed to demonstrate good boundaries for their clients to role model. They aren't suppose to ask you to engage in activities outside of therapy with them that has nothing to do with therapy. They keep your information confidential. They don't discuss another client's information with you or how they feel about another client personally. They don't talk about their private personal problems with you. Those are the basics. And of course, if they were crossing the non-sexual boundary, this could lead to the sexual boundary crossing.
Actually, consciously and unconsciously, it is the client that tests the t. Most of us that enter therapy have supreme trust issues, so we constantly test "can I trust you" with the t. Mentally, as we feel the t is trustworthy, we open up ourselves more and more. If a therapist breaks that boundary (mentally, physically, or emotionally), it can be extremely damaging for us.
poster:shadows721
thread:336073
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040426/msgs/342129.html