Boundary work can become unhelpful when it assumes that everyone can safely say no. Use this guide to choose a relevant activity and check the conditions surrounding it.
How to use this page
Prepare one exploration or rehearsal with the person’s consent. The time estimate covers this planning task, not assessment of every legal, relational, or safety issue.
Understand the stakes
Ask what the person wants to protect and what could happen if they speak. Consider financial dependency, employment, caregiving, discrimination, disability, immigration concerns, and coercion. If retaliation is possible, prioritize private support and appropriate specialist planning over direct rehearsal.
Offer more than one communication route
A spoken statement is one option. Writing, using an advocate, requesting time, or making a private plan may fit better. Ask what respect and directness mean in the person’s context. Do not prescribe eye contact, volume, or posture as proof of confidence.
Review without grading
Invite the person to judge whether the activity increased clarity or created pressure. If practice did not happen, examine fit and barriers. Distinguish a negotiable request, a personal limit, and an obligation requiring clarification. Use supervision or specialist consultation when the issue exceeds your competence or role.
Reflection prompts
Use these questions in conversation, on paper, or in the downloaded PDF. You may adapt or skip a prompt.
Context, communication options, and consultation needs to address through approved clinical processes
Facilitator notes and adaptation
A person is not responsible for preventing another person’s abuse through better communication. Keep real clinical information in approved records; these pages do not provide legal advice or establish safety.
Sources behind the concepts
These sources inform the concepts in this original resource. They do not validate or endorse this specific page.
Conceptual background on expressing needs clearly while respecting others. These pages use original wording and activities.
Assertive CommunicationDepartment of Health, Government of Western Australia · Accessed 2026-10-27
Conceptual background on clear requests, factual descriptions, and practice. Communication style is adapted for culture and access rather than prescribed eye contact.