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The Professional Boundaries Company

Maintaining Emotional Boundaries

If you are facing an allegation around emotional boundaries in a professional setting this course is for you.

Live online events

  • 04 Nov 2025 - 06 Nov 2025
    3 days, 9:00 AM GMT - 5:30 PM GMT
    Online
    Jonathan Coe
    • £1,800.00 incl. VAT
    Register4 places remaining

IS THIS THE RIGHT COURSE?

If you’re not sure about which course is the right one for you we have provided a guide to help you here.

Description

The course is for where the issue of concern is about crossing emotional boundaries. Please read the list  in the section 'When is the course helpful?' for the kinds of issues this covers. If in doubt please contact us for a discussion about the most suitable course for you.

It is helpful where there are concerns, allegations or findings – it is important to understand that our courses have been helpful to people who face allegations, including where allegations are contested.

Please note, if there is any allegation that concerns sexualised behaviour then the appropriate course is Maintaining Professional Boundaries.

When The Course Is Helpful

The course is for professionals who have a need to look at professional boundaries where there is any concern around emotional boundary issues, alleged or proven, including:

  • Over familiarity / regarding a client like a family member or friend
  • Socialising / personal contact
  • Social media: personal contact
  • Excessive self-disclosure
  • Emotional over-involvement with patients
  • Non-sexualised inappropriate interactions with patients.

 

Symptoms of emotional boundary problems often include blurring of normal professional boundaries, for example appointment times, money issues, where the work takes place, disclosure. 

Emotional boundary concerns may arise in relation to clients or colleagues.

The course can be taken at any stage after a concern has been highlighted. If there is a formal investigation we recommend taking the course at an early stage, so that appropriate relevant plans can be put in place. 

Goals & Intended Outcomes

  • To increase responsibility and awareness of emotional boundaries
  • To learn techniques for establishing and maintaining boundaries
  • To increase awareness of vulnerabilities and risk factors
  • To put in place a Personal Development & Restoration plan
  • To improve understanding of personal history and antecedents to problems
  • To increase understanding of the effects of boundary transgressions on others
  • To consider needs for further professional assistance and personal development

Indicative Content

  • Attitudes towards power and authority
  • Belief and its functions
  • Blind spots
  • Cognitive distortions
  • Commitment
  • Consequences of over-involvement
  • Distinction between context and cause
  • Dynamics of risk
  • Dynamics of interpersonal relationships
  • Emotional boundary types
  • Establishing safe boundaries 
  • Healthy emotional boundaries
  • Insight
  • Impact and consequences
  • New ways of relating and being
  • New ways of communicating
  • Notion of responsibility
  • Power differentials
  • Relationship with vulnerability
  • Risk factors for Emotional Boundary concerns
  • Signs of unhealthy emotional boundaries
  • Stages of moving on

Learning Methods

  • Pre-course reading
  • Conversations with the trainer
  • Evidence from research
  • Film and TV Clips
  • Group discussion
  • Working in pairs
  • Acted Scenarios
  • Presentations
  • Playing The Professional Boundaries Game®
  • Creating a Personal Development Plan

Who is the course for?

The course is for those in roles working with people, including medicine, nursing, social work, ministry, education, psychotherapy, counselling, criminal justice, corporate, legal and political settings.

FAQ

On each course page you will find a link to register. Click through and you can pay by bank card and register immediately. As payment is made the course place is booked. You will receive a confirmation email with course details and joining instructions, along with a receipt. With the exception of our Introduction to Professional Boundaries course, the confirmation email will ask you to submit some confidential information which will be shared with the course facilitator giving them an understanding of the circumstances that bring you to us so that they can fully support you during the course. For some courses there is some pre-course reading and preparation to do.

We provide Certificates of Completion for all our courses. Some courses have been formally accredited by CPD Standards, which is an internationally recognised accrediting agency and for these a CPD Certificate is issued.  Accreditation is presently being sought for all courses.

Whilst we do not have standard discounts, if financing a course is an issue payments can be split over 2 – 4 months. There are some charitable agencies that provide support to some disciplines – please contact us if you wish to know more. Occasionally, if there is low take-up on a course, we can offer reduced cost places at one weeks’ notice – if this is of interest please contact us to discuss our  terms.

All Participants are offered a discount if they book additional training within 30 days of course completion [T&C’s apply]

 

The courses are designed to help with developing insight, reflecting and establishing a plan for remediation/restoration. Openness and engagement are required to get the most from participation. If you have concerns about disclosure we are happy to discuss this with you and would also suggest you discuss this with your representatives.

 

Our one-day courses provide limited time for sharing the context for participation, and individual work. The three-day courses are an intensive space which centres on the possibility of insight, reflection and remediation. Each attendee leaves with a substantive development plan, in line with the issues of concern.  The overall intention is to create a space for insight. The 3-day courses involve individualised conversations, which may be challenging and often involve some vulnerability. They explore ways of being, ways of thinking, attitudes towards vulnerability and authority, power differential, and more. Numbers are limited to 5 which allows the space needed to thoroughly explore the individual’s personal situation.

 

We strongly encourage taking courses at an early stage. This allows time to implement learnings and, as with our 3-day courses, the Development & Restoration Plan and for your actions to show results in a timely way.