How can you determine if your therapist has crossed professional boundaries and become too emotionally invested in your relationship as a patient/client?

While there are some boundary crossings that are clearly spelled out and have professional and legal implications ( your therapist should not attempt to date you, invite you on vacation or give you lavish gifts) some potential boundary crossings are in the eyes of the participants ( Say, if your therapist sends you a card when you graduate from college or a storybook when your first child is born. )

Therapy is at times very hard work. Sometimes it’s the therapist’s job to ask questions that make you feel uncomfortable. Those questions are not boundary issues and you will likely find it to your personal benefit to try to wrestle with them.

I guess you’ll have to trust your own instincts on this.

I’m wondering about attachment and transference with the therapist and the idea of escape and fantasy? How much do you think your strong feelings, constant thoughts, desires to be with your therapist are a way to escape from your present life? I wonder if the transference serves another purpose than to show us our wounds and/or past experiences, but is a present coping strategy for managing what we don’t want to face (even if unconsciously) in the present—-current relationships, life circumstances, etc. Can anyone relate to this concept of escape in relation to their therapy relationship? How does this play out for you?

The graduation card may have been sent in genuine appreciation for the hard work you have put in to arrive at where you are. You may appreciate your therapist’s recognition of your efforts. But if the card creeps you out, it may mean your therapist has made a major miscalculation about where your boundaries stand. Maybe that’s a conversation worth having with your therapist. Or maybe it’s a flashing red light signaling it’s time for you to get out and move on.

Do these actions feel right to you, or do they make you feel uncomfortable? Do you feel you can speak about these feelings with your therapist, either with appreciation or with vaguely concealed anexiety? If not, is there another professional you can seek out to discuss your concerns?

But a Welcome Baby copy of Make Way for Duckings? Some clients might find that a meaningful, celebratory easing of recognized boundaries. But others may find they do not want their therapy to enter the Nursery, even if it comes cloaked in the feathers of the resolutely maternal Mother Mallard. There is no right here. There is no wrong. You are free to call it as you feel it. It’s yours to own.

Do Brits realize that Andrew Tate is the one who will liberate their country from tyranny by becoming prime minister?