“Taking off the Therapist Hat”: Boundary Setting as Self-Advocacy for Mental Health Providers

Mental healthcare providers face challenges in their work due to required emotional labor, resulting in high stress levels and emotional exhaustion, increasing burnout likelihood, which COVID-19 exacerbated. This study examines the perceptions of licensed professional therapists’ (n = 20) non-work interpersonal and intrapersonal boundaries during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of communication accommodation theory. Reflexive thematic analysis showed therapists acknowledge the importance of boundaries, recommending them for their clients, but are hesitant to take their own advice. Therapists reported role switching confusion as friends placed therapy demands, creating intrapersonal conflict and increasing perceptions of burnout. Self-advocacy through boundary setting may help alleviate job-related stress and burnout. Implications for therapists, social workers, and interpersonal communication researchers are discussed.