Therapy Guide: Boundaries With Family

Boundaries are an important component of a healthy family life. The healthiest families have flexible boundaries that are clear and direct.

Your therapist can help you understand where you need boundaries, how to communicate them, and what to do when a family member doesn’t respect your boundaries.

If you want to begin working on boundaries in therapy, here is how to bring that up:

• “I feel so overwhelmed when I’m with my family. I’m always helping others and getting nothing in return. I really need help.”
• “I keep hearing that I need to set boundaries in my relationships, but I have no idea where to start. Can you help me?”
• “I don’t know why people have so much trouble respecting my boundaries. It must be how I am communicating with them. I think I need help.”
• “I have tried to set boundaries so many times with my family members and it’s not working.”
• “Sometimes it feels like my boundaries are too harsh and I feel guilty. I want to work on this.”