We all experience boundaries in our lives daily. Your clients may deal with different types of boundaries which are relevant to them and their relationships, but they will need to know more about them so they can be managed. Review the Boundaries in Relationships Handout with your client. The handout can be introduced by using these examples:
- As we have various experiences in life, we receive specific messages about how important our needs/wants are. This happens in our families, in the military, in our job situations, in friendships and in romantic relationships.
- Sometimes we receive messages that our needs/wants are not important and we learn to deny, hide, or minimize the importance of our needs/wants. As a result, our needs are not met.
- Other times, we receive messages that the only way to get our needs/wants met is to use force, threats/intimidation, or manipulation.
