Therapeutic boundaries in a prison setting: A dialogue between an intern and her supervisor

A prison setting, with its numerous clinical issues, is a valuable learning experience for the graduate art therapy student. Oftentimes, they see the correctional facility as a dangerous challenge and an intriguing unknown. However, confusion and ambiguity often emerge while providing art therapy services. A graduate art therapy program in a major university in the Southeast instituted an internship/research site in a prison setting for its graduates. Ongoing dialogue between the intern placed at this facility and her faculty supervisor revealed unique boundary issues, specifically those that involve time, space, materials, self-disclosure, and transferential issues. Through supervision, the intern gained further insight into different approaches to addressing these boundary concerns. This essay focuses on the intern's struggles with certain boundary transgressions and the supervisor's responses to her inquiries.