ABSTRACT
Since our boundaries protect us and maintain our identity in a changing environment, what happens to them when reader cross the threshold from sidewalk to medical office, and are instantly transformed in our identity from being a citizen such as John Smith teacher to John Smith patient ! To understand this it is helpful to imagine a world without interpersonal boundaries, a world where it is be normal for someone to walk into our home, use our toothbrush, and read our mail; where someone at the table next to ours in a restaurant reaches over and takes our chicken leg; where a stranger approaches people to comment on our haircut. Readers are mostly unconscious of boundaries except when they are intruded upon. When trust, power and safety are enhanced, then communication is facilitated. Healthy boundaries are dynamic, fluid, and flexible. Unhealthy boundaries are fixed, rigid and either wide open or tightly shut.
