“I didn’t even know that I had a boundary there until someone crossed it and I flipped out”

That is how I first learned that we all have boundaries, we just might not have put this language to it. Or indeed any language. I was a young adult and it was expected that I could navigate human relationships with skill, but I was still working out what I need and certainly didn’t always handle boundary conversations well!

Having harmonious relationships is the result of developing a range of skills and being able to name and maintain our boundaries when others are not treating us in ways that feel respectful are essential parts of that. We also need to know how to talk about things as they arise and not just quietly hope that things will get better. This workshop brings together my lived experience and professional knowledge to equip you with the skills required to navigate boundaries and boundary conversations.

This workshop is for you if you find it difficult to work out what you need, how to communicate this to people and how to handle it when people overstep or cross your boundaries.

We’ll approach the topic of boundaries from a compassionate, prosocial perspective. This is about learning caring and loving ways of relating with ourselves and others. We will pay attention to the role that power, including power imbalances, impacts our boundaries, how able we are to set and/or maintain our boundaries and the conversations we have around our boundaries.

The learning intentions of this workshop are:

• Understand what boundaries are,

• Develop ways of identifying our own boundaries,

• Know how to set boundaries with assertiveness and compassion,

• Identify what affects our ability to set and maintain boundaries,

• Develop strategies to be able to stay present for boundary conversations,

• Understand how to handle it when someone oversteps one of our boundaries,

• Explore the way that power impacts boundaries and boundary conversations.