Boundary violations

Abstract

Professional boundaries can be described as the ‘edge’ or limit of appropriate behaviour by the practitioner in the clinical setting. The therapeutic frame comprised of this set of boundaries allows the clinician and the patient to interact in a safe and productive way. These boundaries can be violated by sexual contact between the practitioner and the patient or by nonsexual overinvolvement. The mental health clinicians who transgress boundaries may do so for different reasons, and there are varied characterological and symptomatic clinical pictures that lead to boundary violations. Detailed evaluation of each individual case is necessary to determine if the clinician can be rehabilitated or not. Rehabilitation generally involves psychotherapy, monitoring, practice limitations, continuing education, and supervision. The digital era has brought about new forms of boundary violations involving cyberspace and the relative ease with which information about patients can be accessed.