The Power of Boundaries: Protecting Mental Health in Veterinary Medicine

By Dr. Katie Lawlor, PsyD, MIA
Director of Veterinary Mental Health

In a field built on compassion, it’s easy to forget that caring for others begins with caring for ourselves. Veterinary professionals are known for their profound empathy, tireless work ethic, and unwavering dedication to animal care — but these very strengths can also become vulnerabilities when workplace boundaries are blurred or neglected.

The demands of veterinary medicine are intense: long hours, ethical dilemmas, life and death decisions, financial strain, and attempting to meet expectations from colleagues and pet guardians. Without clear boundaries, burnout can take root quickly — eroding not just professional satisfaction, but personal well-being.

Setting boundaries is not selfish. It’s not a sign of weakness. It’s one of the most powerful tools we have for preserving mental health, increasing resilience, and sustaining a long-term career in veterinary medicine.

Why Boundaries Matter in Veterinary Medicine

Veterinary environments are fast-paced, cognitively taxing, and emotionally charged. This combination can make it difficult to recognize when our limits have been crossed — especially when practice culture can reward over-functioning and perfectionism.

Boundaries allow us to:

• Clarify our roles and expectations with clients and colleagues;
• Avoid burnout and compassion fatigue;
• Create more respectful, sustainable relationships at work;
• Prevent conflict from escalating into resentment; and
• Model professionalism and self-respect to our teams and clients.

What Healthy Boundaries Look Like in Action

Healthy boundaries start with clear, kind, and confident communication. You can be both kind and assertive — the two are not mutually exclusive.
Here are a few practical examples:

Situation: You are running late.
Say: Thank you for your patience.
No Need to Say: I’m so sorry for the delay.

Situation: You are confident about a case / diagnosis / course of treatment / procedure.
Say: It would be best if we _____.
No Need to Say: I think maybe we might…

Situation: Collaborating with a team.
Say: When can I expect an update?
No Need to Say: Just wanted to check-in.

Situation: Setting your schedule when you are busy.
Say: Could you do __:__am/pm?
No Need to Say: What time would work best for you?

Situation: Receiving a complex email and needing to respond.
Say: It would be easier for me to discuss this in person / over the phone.
No Need to: Spend 30+ minutes attempting to craft the “correct” wording.

Situation: When you’ve assisted a colleague. Say: Always glad to help.
No Need to Say: No worries! / No problem! / Any time!

Situation: When you wonder if your colleague understands your request / instructions.
Say: Let me know if you have any questions.
No Need to Say: Hopefully that makes sense?

Situation: You make an error and your colleague / client calls you out on it.
Say: Thank you for catching this; I appreciate you letting me know. No Need to Say: Ahhhh, so sorry! I completely missed that!

Situation: When someone is asking for a response that is not urgent.
Say: This is important to me / I’d like to think it over and get back to you / When do you need a final answer?
No Need to: Provide them with a rushed immediate answer.
Boundaries can also mean being honest when you’re not emotionally available for a conversation.

Below are more strategies that can you can begin to implement immediately:

• Remember to take breaks after difficult cases.
• Turn off notifications when you’re not at work for any work-related messages, Slack, emails, texts, etc.
• Set realistic expectations for your response time with clients, writing notes, returning phone calls, etc.
• Lean on your organization’s workflows for clear boundaries around what you can provide (and what is not your responsibility!).
• Protect your time by clearly marking your working hours.
• Set up calming rituals for between work hours and off hours.

Strategies for Building and Maintaining Boundaries

DEAR MAN is an effective interpersonal communication framework drawn from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Below are a few foundational strategies from this skill:

• Assess Your Own Limits: What makes you feel uncomfortable, overwhelmed, or drained? Start there.
• Communicate Expectations Clearly: Practice converting your “wants” at work into “needs” — e.g., “I need 30 minutes of uninterrupted time to complete this charting.”
• Stay Consistent: Boundaries are reinforced not just through what we say, but how we follow through.
• Use Emotion-Informed Communication:
  • Describe what’s happening
  • Express your feelings
  • Assert your needs
  • Reinforce the benefits of a change
  • Mindfully keep focus on your goals and Maintain your stance.
  • Appear confident and competent (even if you don’t feel this way inside)
  • Negotiate – be willing to give in order to receive, offering alternative solutions to solving the problem.

Building Resilience

Establishing and maintaining boundaries at work helps build resilience. Resilience is not a treat that people either have or do not have; rather, it involves thoughts and behaviors that can be learned and developed.

Below are 3 useful tips – the “3 P’s”for building resilience:

• Permanence: People who are resilient see the effects of challenging events as temporary rather than permanent.
• Pervasiveness: Resilient people don’t let setbacks or difficult events affect other unrelated areas of their lives. They amplify positive experiences, and don’t solely focus on the negative.
• Personalization: People who have resilience don’t exclusively blame themselves when distressing events occur. They analyze their role in the situation, while also considering context and other relevant factors.

Final Thoughts

Veterinary medicine asks so much from professionals — emotionally, mentally, and physically – however we cannot pour from an empty cup. Boundaries help us protect our mental health, preserve our energy, and continue doing the work we love with integrity and purpose.

When we commit to setting and upholding boundaries, we’re not just protecting ourselves — we’re modeling a healthier, more sustainable culture for our colleagues, our clients, and the next generation of veterinary professionals.

Sources:

Linehan, M. (2014). DBT Skills training manual. Guilford Publications.
Seligman, M. E. (2006). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. Vintage