Personal & Professional Boundaries for a Licensed Addiction Counselor - Peter Hanson, LADC
Why are clear boundaries especially important in addiction counseling compared to other fields of therapy?
“I find that most people who are addicted struggle with boundaries. It seems as though there are 2 types of clients here. They either don't know how to set boundaries to begin with, or they don’t know how to enforce the boundaries after they set them. Then, they become upset and don’t feel like they are being respected by those who don’t really know what it is that they want or need from them. Because they haven’t clearly set those boundaries or bothered to enforce them after they were set, clients can use this as an excuse to return to use. Addicts are always looking for a loophole, and weak boundaries create one.”
How do boundaries support a client’s recovery process?
“People who don’t know how to set boundaries can learn how to if they want to. When you are able to set boundaries, you become empowered to make yourself important. We’ve always been selfish in our use, but not self-centered. When you are self-centered, you become important in your own life, which promotes positive changes and a better quality of life. People might have a slight advantage if they are able to set boundaries but need help enforcing them, because they have already determined what’s important to them. They just need help learning how to hold other people in their lives accountable.”
How do you recognize when a client is beginning to cross one of your personal boundaries?
“I think it all has to do with knowing what your boundaries are. I am not their friend, I am their accountability partner, and hopefully a role model as well. I will be their biggest advocate if they are doing the things they need to do, and I will do whatever I can to help them succeed. The client just needs to do the work. It is their treatment and their opportunity to change their life. I just help them make the most of the opportunity. But we should never work harder than a client. We’ve already done the treatment ourselves.”
How do you separate your personal life from the emotional weight of clients’ stories?
“I have a great routine, with a 30-minute drive to work during the day and a 30-minute drive on the way home. I have time to prepare myself to be a counselor on the ride to work. At the end of the day, I sit alone and do my charting and reflect on what happened that day and who I saw and who has issues that need to be dealt with, and then I have 30 minutes to listen to music on my drive home. This especially works for me when I take my motorcycle. What is normally a 30-35 minute drive can turn into an hour and a half if it is a nice night! When I come home, I leave work in my truck or in the saddlebags of my motorcycle until the next day on the drive to work. It’s things you learn over the years if you wish to have any longevity in this field. When I come home now, I’m just done.”
How do you maintain boundaries while still showing empathy and building therapeutic rapport?
“For me the key to that is establishing at the very beginning what the boundaries are. In a group setting, there are group norms that don’t change regardless of who it is coming into the group. Even if I’m not the facilitator for the day, the group norms still don’t change and my guys all know that. They end up policing themselves this way. This still allows you to be empathetic because the norms are what makes things acceptable and unacceptable. It all boils down to respect and because we are all human beings we are all entitled to be treated with the respect and dignity that goes with that. The golden rule. The book Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum explains everything perfectly and is a great guide to life.”
What steps do you take if you notice a colleague displaying poor boundary practices?
“It’s not so much the steps you need to take, but how to do that gracefully. Unfortunately, in some cases it can’t be done gracefully. Personally, I feel an ethical obligation to say or do something because it not only affects the clinician, but it also affects the people he or she is providing services to. For example, if a colleague is showing favoritism towards a client and group norms are not equally being enforced, it affects the group as a whole. Group norms need to be universal so clients can feel safe. Sometimes administration needs to get involved which takes the responsibility off myself and hands it over to the appropriate party. It’s something that needs to be addressed one way or another.”
How do you maintain compassion fatigue and burnout, both of which can weaken boundary-setting?
“Self-care. Period.”