Addiction discussion questions
Summary
Download free boundaries therapy worksheets to help clients gain a deeper understanding of boundary styles and improve their interpersonal relationships.
Help clients identify and distinguish between seven core boundary areas—including physical, emotional, and time boundaries—to prevent burnout and protect their well-being.
Use these worksheets to help clients evaluate their boundary styles and transition away from rigid or porous patterns toward healthier, more balanced connections.
Integrate these psychoeducational tools into individual sessions, couples therapy, or between-session homework to support your clients' therapeutic progress.
Understanding the importance of setting and maintaining healthy boundaries can be a turning point for many clients in therapy. In this article, we explore different boundary styles, such as rigid vs. porous boundaries, and describe the types of boundaries in a relationship.
We’ve also included free downloadable boundaries therapy worksheets to save to your electronic health record (EHR) and use in your practice.
What are the different types of boundaries?
Boundaries are crucial to healthy relationships. They communicate our limits relating to our body, mind, emotions, and material possessions. Boundaries also speak to our expectations of ourselves and others, values, morals, and ethics.
There are seven types of boundaries:
Emotional boundaries communicate what an individual feels comfortable sharing and the emotional capacity they’re willing to offer others. For example: If a friend is going through a tough time but a client is running on empty, they may need to limit the conversation to protect their own mental health and rest.
Physical boundaries protect the body, personal space, and physical needs. They communicate how and when a person wants to be touched, the privacy they want to maintain, and how they prioritize rest, sleep, and nourishment. Physical boundaries also dictate how others should behave in one's space. For instance: If a client is in recovery and a friend brings alcohol into their home, the client gets to decide whether they feel comfortable with the friend drinking in their space.
Intellectual boundaries guard thoughts, beliefs, and ideas, while respecting those of others. For example: A client might refrain from discussing politics or religion with friends, coworkers, or family members who hold opposing views.
Sexual boundaries define comfort levels relating to consent and preferences with sexual intimacy. They describe who an individual engages with, what feels safe, their sexual health, and expectations in a relationship. For example: If partners want to explore polyamory, they might use the STARS talk framework by Dr. Evelin Dacker to ensure everyone is on the same page regarding regular testing and safety.
Time boundaries protect how a person uses their time, aligning it with their needs, values, and responsibilities. Maintaining time boundaries prevents clients from overcommitting and burning out.
Material boundaries protect material and financial resources, and the right to use those resources as desired. Material boundaries also refer to other people’s use of personal property. For example: A client may set a material boundary that their child cannot borrow their car without express permission.
Spiritual or religious boundaries protect beliefs and how a person wishes to practice or honor them. Examples include: Fasting during religious holidays, abstaining from certain foods or alcohol, or refraining from participating in activities that do not align with one's core beliefs.
Types of boundaries in a relationship
In addition to the types of boundaries, there are also different boundary styles, including:
Rigid boundaries
A rigid boundary style means someone is overly protective of information and may appear avoidant or detached from getting close to others. They may be hyperindependent, distant, and never ask for help.
Porous boundaries
These are the types of boundaries clients might set when they struggle to say “no” for fear of upsetting or letting someone down.
While a client may set a limit, a porous boundary style is easily breached, setting the tone that their boundaries shouldn’t be taken seriously. An example of a porous boundary might be oversharing information, doing things for others when they haven’t asked, pushing back on someone’s boundary (or ignoring it altogether), or changing the limits to avoid upsetting the other person.
Healthy boundaries
Setting and enforcing a healthy boundary style involves clearly expressing limits or expectations, sharing an appropriate level of intimate history, not putting others' needs before one's own, respecting others' boundaries, saying “no” when necessary, and asking if someone would like help before assuming what they need.
Understanding the difference between rigid, porous, and healthy boundaries is crucial to healthy interpersonal relationships, even when saying “no” to someone you love is uncomfortable.
How to use the boundaries therapy worksheets
You can download and use the boundaries therapy worksheets in several ways:
Use the worksheet in a couples session to illustrate different boundary styles.
Print or screen share the worksheet to use as a psychoeducational prompt in the session.
Give the boundaries therapy worksheet to the client to remind them of what you discussed during therapy.
Share the worksheet with colleagues and supervisees.
Ask the client to reflect on the boundaries therapy worksheet between sessions, identify their boundary styles and areas for improvement, and report their findings at their next therapy appointment.
Sources
APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2018). APA Dictionary of Psychology: Boundary.
Bacon, I., & Conway, J. (2023). Co-dependency and Enmeshment — a Fusion of Concepts. International Journal of Mental Health Addiction.
Palanci, J. (2020). Healthy Boundaries Relationship Model. Psychol J Res Open.
UC Davis Health. (2024). How to set boundaries and why it matters for your mental health.
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