ABSTRACT
An ethical therapist lives her life ethically, she does not don some metaphorical ‘ethical white coat’ but is an ethical person first. Such an attitude is therapeutic and from it therapeutic boundaries can be integrated into the therapist’s practice. Therapeutic boundaries need to emerge from an attitude of care. Together with an ethical attitude we also need knowledge of what therapeutic boundaries are needed within the therapy relationship. In cricket a boundary is something that marks the farthest limit of the playing area, likewise a therapeutic boundary serves to contain the event that takes place within it. Boundaries hold the therapeutic relationship in place and once the therapeutic relationship ventures beyond those boundaries it becomes something other than therapy. Although the client carries some responsibility for adhering to therapeutic boundaries it is the responsibility of the therapist to provide a safe container for the work by outlining the therapeutic boundaries and ensuring that the relationship is held within them.
