Made for Counselors
Check Boundaries Before You Say Yes
Also useful for: Mental Health Counselors, people in Healthcare Professionals
Work through a focused boundary check for requests involving gifts, rides, extra contact, social media, overlapping relationships, out-of-session support, or exceptions to normal practice.
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Use this when
Use this before accepting, declining, or making an exception to a request that falls outside your usual practice. It is especially useful when you feel rushed, guilty, flattered, worried about disappointing someone, or unsure which rule applies.
You'll need
- Request type
- Request summary
- Context and pressure points
- Usual practice
- Known constraints
- Safety or reporting concerns
You'll get
- The request classified as yes, no, conditional yes, or consult first
- Immediate risk checked
- The main boundary concerns named
- Firm rules separated from preferences
- A response written for you to deliver
- What you will document and follow up on listed
By the end of this playbook
You will have:
- The request classified as yes, no, conditional yes, or consult first
- Immediate risk checked
- The main boundary concerns named
- Firm rules separated from preferences
- A response written for you to deliver
- What you will document and follow up on listed
Sample
This is sample data, not your prompt. Pro unlocks this higher-stakes Playbook. On Free Playbooks you can still copy the assembled prompt into any AI.
Sample input
Request type: Extra out-of-session contact Request summary: A person I have met with for three months asked if they can text me in the evenings when they feel overwhelmed. They want an answer at our next meeting. Context and pressure points: They have limited support after work and worry that a refusal means I don't care. I feel pulled to make an exception, but I can't provide dependable evening responses. Usual practice: Texting is for scheduling only. I review urgent support options during intake and don't promise after-hours replies. Known constraints: My organization limits texting to logistics and requires consultation before communication agreements change. I need to confirm what the consent form says. Safety or reporting concerns: No immediate danger has been disclosed. I need to clarify what feeling overwhelmed means and review the existing safety plan.
Sample assembled prompt
Neutral Summary The person requested evening... Immediate-Risk Screen No immediate danger is... Clarify the meaning and severity of... Boundary Check - Purpose and benefit:... - Feasibility: Dependable evening responses can't... - Expectations and dependence: Unclear availability... - Consistency: The request differs from... - Access context: Limited evening support... - Rules: Organizational limits appear firm,... Provisional Decision No to open-ended evening... The strongest reason is that an... The strongest concern about saying no... Safeguards and Next Actions - Clarify... - Review the safety plan and... - Confirm the consent form and... - Discuss the request in supervision... - Agree on what messages may... Response Script "I hear that evenings... I can't offer ongoing evening support... I do want us to make... At our next meeting, let us... We can also make sure our...