Enhance client awareness and understanding of personal boundaries with this structured self-monitoring tool.
Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.
An editable Microsoft Word version of the resource.
The Boundaries - Self-Monitoring Record is designed to help clients identify and record situations where their personal boundaries are overstepped. It includes columns to record information about: situational context; thoughts about the boundary violation; emotional and physiological responses; and coping responses. An additional ‘extended’ version of the form includes a column for recording the consequences of these coping responses, which may help therapists to generate hypotheses about how the client’s existing coping strategies contribute to their reactions to further boundary violations.
Self-monitoring is a cornerstone of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and serves as both an assessment tool and therapeutic intervention. It supports case conceptualization, treatment planning, and client insight by encouraging systematic observation and recording of relevant thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to boundary issues.
Managing and setting boundaries to reduce stress.
Increasing awareness of boundary violations that contribute to low mood.
Understanding and addressing boundary-related conflicts.
Introduce clients to the idea of boundaries.
Select a clear boundary-related target for monitoring.
Encourage clients to document relevant events and interactions immediately for accuracy.
Discuss the recorded data to inform case conceptualizations, treatment plans, and interventions.
Self-monitoring is a important intervention in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that helps clients discriminate and record key personal experiences (Korotitsch & Nelson-Gray, 1999). It involves identifying a target phenomena and systematically documenting it. This can generate actionable insights related to boundary issues that inform and guide treatment.
The Boundaries - Self-Monitoring Record worksheet provides structured columns for clients to document situational contexts, thoughts, feelings, and responses to boundary violations. An additional ‘extended’ version of the record includes a column for recording the consequences of these coping responses, helping therapists generate hypotheses about how the client’s coping strategies contribute to their reactions to further boundary violations.
