Healthy Boundaries For Women

Do you say yes when you feel no?

Do you feel burned out, drained, over-extended or resentful in your personal or professional relationships? Do you find yourself being too easily pressured into saying yes? Are you often irritable or frustrated because you feel overburdened? Or maybe you keep breaking promises to yourself, or spending time doing things that aren’t important to you? If so, this group is for you! Learn the importance of setting boundaries, what to say and how to say it, and how to overcome discomfort in being your authentic self in relationships, friendships, family dynamics and at work.

Signs You Need Stronger Boundaries

You may:

Easily say yes to things you don’t have time to do
Offer to help when you don’t have the capacity
Feel resentful toward people for asking for help, and then upset with yourself for feeling that way
Keep from expressing an opinion or concern about something that matters to you
Avoid communicating your needs or expectations with others
Break promises to yourself
Feel a desire to run away from your responsibilities
Feel unable to ask others for help, or find it difficult to allow others to help you
Rescue others
Feel burnt out, exhausted or overwhelmed

The Importance of Boundaries

Women are often called to be the caregivers and peacekeepers in their family, friendship and professional circles. While being a helper and showing up for others can be a noble and uplifting role to perform, we often leave ourselves behind, leading to burnout, resentment and exhaustion. It can be easy to think, “I should just say no”, or wish you could tell someone how you’re feeling, but feelings of guilt or dread may keep you from doing so.

You’re not alone. Healthy boundaries are important expressions that allow us to show up authentically in our relationships, and keep us from overextending ourselves, or leaving ourselves behind. Unfortunately, knowing you need boundaries can be easier than setting them. Often the thought of “confrontation” or feelings of guilt can stop you, or you may find the desire is strong but you’re missing the language to use. Fortunately, boundaries can be learned, and the more you learn and practice them, the more you are able to enact them. Setting and maintaining healthy boundaries can lead to increased confidence and stronger relationships, as well as better sleep, and lowered anxiety and depression.

Learn To Identify, Set and Maintain Your Boundaries

In this 8-week workshop, you’ll meet other women who have all identified the need for healthy boundaries in their lives. Using the guidance of the New York Times Bestselling book, Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab, your group facilitators, Olivia Wright, MA and Christie Coffin, MA, will help you learn to identify your boundaries, and find the language to set and maintain them. Olivia and Christie will guide participants through a supportive group environment, allowing members to share their experiences and reflections as we progress through learning and practicing boundaries in the areas of intimate partnerships, family relationships, friendships, work and social media. Together, you’ll learn more about yourself, build boundary skills, and experience an intimate supportive group experience with other women.

Interested? Let us know

The Details

Start Date: two new groups – one daytime, another evening – will start in the end of January 2023. Check back or visit our social media for finalized dates once available.e
Duration: Every Tuesday afternoon or evening for eight weeks
Who can attend?: Each group is limited to the first 8 adult women to register.
What do I need? Just you and a copy of Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab.
Location: The Davis Group Counseling & Wellness, 1380 Lead Hill Blvd, Suite 160, Roseville, CA 95661
Cost: $599 or 2 payments of $300 (first payment due prior to the first session, second payment due week 4). Participants are responsible for full payment, and fees are non-refundable after October 17th, 2022.
What will I receive?: You’ll receive reading assignments, journal prompts and take home activities between sessions. As a skill-building workshop, participants will benefit the most by committing to the in-group and between session assignments. As a support processing group, participants are not required to share, but are strongly encouraged to participate in group discussions to gain the full value of the support experience.
How do I register?: Links to the required pre-registration can be found on this website. Once you click the link below and submit an interest form, and you will be contacted by the group facilitators for registration.
Who is leading the group?: Group Facilitators are Olivia Wright, MA, AMFT and Christie Coffin, MA, LMFT

8-week Group Structure Outline

Week 1 “My Boundaries & Values“: Meet fellow participants, learn about healthy boundary types and the benefits of them, identify the types of boundaries you have, engage and connect with group members in preparation for the individual and collective journey you’re embarking on
Week 2 “Healthy Boundaries, Healthy Life”: Learn the types of boundaries, understand consequences of not having healthy boundaries, engage with the group to process uncomfortable feelings around boundary setting
Week 3 “Communicating Boundaries”: Learn how to identify and communicate your boundaries, how to make them clear and how to respond to boundary violations by others. Deepen your understanding about self-beliefs that contribute to accepting boundary violations and gain support from the group to challenge those beliefs and gain confidence in setting boundaries
Week 4 “Family Boundaries”: Understand how setting boundaries honors the self, what boundaries within family dynamics looks like, and identify areas in family life that may need more attention
Week 5 “Relationship Boundaries”: Understand needs in your partnered (or future partnered) relationships, how and when to speak those needs through boundaries, and improve relational communication and satisfaction
Week 6 “Friendship Boundaries”: Gain awareness of signs of healthy and unhealthy friendships, learn to manage complaining, practice friendship boundaries language
Week 7 “Workplace Boundaries”: Identify boundary issues at work, learn how to handle toxic work environments, how unhealthy workplace boundaries lead to burnout and how to limit that possibility
Week 8 “Social Media and Beyond”: Understand the impact of unhealthy boundaries in consumption of social media, learn importance of personal social media boundaries, managing the discomfort of “FOMO”, and how to cleanse your timeline for healthier social media engagement

Common Questions

What is a skill-building and processing group?

Our 8-week group combines education on boundaries and a supportive group therapy environment to share and process with other members their experiences and emotions as they begin the journey of honoring boundaries.

Together with instruction by the group facilitators and structured reading of the book, ‘Set Boundaries, Find Peace’ by Nedra Glover Tawwab, participants will learn to identify their boundaries, areas where they need healthier ones, and build and practice boundary language. Participants will be assigned chapter reading, as well as reflective journaling and boundary practice assignments between sessions. By the end of the 8 week sessions, participants will have a better understanding of the importance of setting healthy boundaries, understand and have the language to set them, and experience the long term benefits of them.

Additionally, substantial time in the group sessions will include participant discussions where members can share their experiences and emotions with each other around what brought them to the group, difficulties and successes with boundaries, and struggles with honoring their boundaries. As assignments in practicing boundary setting between sessions begin, group members have the opportunity to share and process with each other those experiences, to offer and receive supportive listening and the validation of common experiences. The 8-participant limit allows for the intimate and supportive experience a small group can provide.

What can I expect from the group structure?

Group sessions are 1.5 hours in duration. The general structure includes homework discussion, short learning lecture on that week’s boundary topic, reflective exercises, and group discussion and processing. Between-session reading assignments from the book, “Set Boundaries, Find Peace” by Nedra Glover Tawwab provide the educational foundation allowing for more group experience and discussion. As a primarily processing group, participants are encouraged to actively participate including sharing their experiences, actively listening to others shared experiences and offering support.

What is the cost of this group compared to individual therapy?

Participants will receive 12 hours worth of education, processing, practice and support at the cost of under $50 an hour, compared with the cost of $175-200 per 50 minutes of individual therapy sessions depending on your provider. The group experience can help accelerate and deepen participants’ boundary practice, depending on your personal dedication and goals.

Can’t I just read the book on my own and skip the group?

You could read the book on your own and follow the exercises offered in “Set Boundaries, Find Peace”. This 8-week workshop and group offer an enhanced experience to help you dedicate yourself to the work of setting and honoring your boundaries while also sharing your experience and hearing from others who are doing the same work at the same time. If you’ve found yourself looking at a dusty stack of to-be-read book piles, or feeling like you’re the only person experiencing the struggles or difficulties of making changes in your life, this group experience is for you. The group is a way to move beyond what the (excellent) book can provide, and an opportunity to engage in an intimate community experience.

Why do I have to purchase “Set Boundaries, Find Peace” (and where can I find it)?

Rather than reinvent the wheel, or limit the group to strictly a learning workshop, we’ve decided to take the opportunity to utilize the excellent education provided by Nedra Glover Tawwab’s book, “Set Boundaries, Find Peace”, and allow us to facilitate a group to help you experience the book beyond the page. Think of the group as an “experiential book club” – with the book doing a majority of the educational work, the group provides an opportunity for members to experience the work in a supportive environment.

The book can be found at most bookstores, both online and at brick-and-mortar locations (note: there is also a published workbook, which is not required for this group). Additionally, if your library carries the book or a friend has a copy, you may borrow the book as long as you’re able to have it for the duration of the 8-week sessions.

What is the space like, and what will be provided?

Our group will meet in our large therapy/training room located at The Davis Group Roseville office (1380 Lead Hill Blvd, Suite 145). Members will wait in the lobby until the group facilitators direct them to the therapy room. Our space is large and comfortable for all members. Coffee, water and tea will be provided. Additionally, binders, worksheets and handouts will be provided throughout the 8 weeks. We recommend members dress comfortably.

Who are our group facilitators?

Your group facilitators are Olivia Wright, MA AMFT #128714 (supervised by Michelle Hutchings, LMFT #102246) and Christie Coffin, MA, LMFT #47638. Olivia and Christie both work with adult women, families and adolescents, and through their work and education, deeply understand the importance of relationships and boundaries. Both therapists find boundary work to be a common theme with their clients, and often hear clients express that they feel like they’re alone in these experiences. After many mutual consultations on their therapy work, the idea of putting together a group experience to help enhance people’s boundary work came to fruition. Together they are excited to provide an opportunity for group members to learn and practice boundaries, and to engage in the group experience for members to feel less alone and more encouraged to take steps to honor boundaries and experience more joyful and healthier relationships.