As a new OT (or even as an established professional), setting boundaries with parents and clients can feel overwhelming and uncomfortable.
However, setting boundaries isn’t about being rigid — it’s about protecting your time, your energy, and your capacity to provide safe, high-quality care.
Here are three boundaries every OT should feel confident setting from day one:
Session Times Matter
Your session runs for a set duration — oops we were running late, not 5 minutes extra, not “just one more quick question.”
Running over time leads to burnout, rushed notes, and delayed sessions for other families. Parents need to know the impact that these little additions have on the rest of your work.
A simple boundary might sound like:
“I’d love to explore this with you — let’s book extra time so I can give you a proper response.”
Not only does it show that you care, but it also clearly indicates that you can’t give them the time at this very moment. Parents will respect this boundary, but only if you enforce it regularly and at the beginning of a client relationship.
However, equally as important, is ensuring you are also running on time. Make sure you’re the master of your calendar, prepare in advance and give yourself buffer time throughout the day in case things do run over. We can’t set time restrictions with clients if we don’t do it ourselves!
You Are Not Their Therapist (for anything other than their child)
This is perhaps the hardest boundary to set. Parents often feel overworked, underappreciated and crunched for time. And as a regular figure in their life, they may feel that they can unload some of their burdens onto you – and sometimes this goes beyond their child and their parents.
It’s okay (and necessary) to gently redirect when conversations become more about their adult challenges:
“I hear this is really hard. I want to make sure you have the right support — would you like recommendations for parent-focused services?”
Remember that you are here to support their child, you are not there to hold the parent’s personal struggles, trauma, or emotional load.
This boundary protects both your emotional safety and the therapeutic focus.
You Don’t Need All the Answers on the Spot
Parents will ask big questions — diagnoses, behaviours, prognosis, medical opinions.
And you do not need to answer immediately.
You’re not expected to have answers on the spot, despite what a parent may think. Additionally, you don’t want to rush and answer and accidentally say the wrong thing, so set a boundary to give yourself time and space to formulate the appropriate response.
Try this script whenever you feel pressured:
“That’s a great question. I want to look into it properly so I can give you an accurate answer — I’ll get back to you.”
This simple statement also helps reinforce to parents that you’re taking their questions seriously and that you care.
Your role isn’t to have every answer instantly. It’s to provide well-considered, evidence-informed support.
So next time you feel that anxious rush when a parent expects an answer on the spot, take a breath, hold your ground, and remember — thoughtful is better than fast.
Setting these three boundaries will not only improve your therapeutic care, it will also make you feel more confident in dealing with parents and clients. Don’t forget that taking time to review notes, reflect, and seek supervision in these situations is a strength, not a weakness.
If you’re seeking clinical supervision to help you create a boundary-setting plan or a list of goals, clinical supervision with myself (Lisa Hughes) might be the right fit for you. Book a 15 minute no-obligation call to meet me and discuss your goals.
