The concept is borrowed from Jaspers and integrated by van Deurzen into the existential approach. Boundary situations (Grenzsituationen) are experiences in which the limits of human existence are laid bare: serious illness, the death of someone close, a catastrophe, prison. Van Deurzen sees them as potential breakthrough points: a crisis can lay bare what is truly important. Meeting a boundary situation is a painful but possible path toward authenticity.
Step-by-step guide
- Accept the client's boundary situation without trying to "normalize" it or downplay the weight of what happened
- Help the client to face fully what has happened or is happening — without going around it, without softening
- Inquire: what does this situation open up about the client's life, about their values, about what is really important?
- Find the client's resources: what helped to bear the limit situations earlier?
- Inquire what new meaning or orientation is possible after this situation — without forcing
When to use
- When working with severe loss, a diagnosis, catastrophic events
- In an existential crisis caused by meeting the limits of life
- With suicidal thoughts — observing safety protocols
- When experiencing the consequences of violence or moral devastation
- After coming out of an acute crisis — for the integration of the experience
Key phrases
You have been through something very hard. What did this change in you — in what you consider important?
Follow-up questions
What is the most important thing you understood about life through what happened?
Sometimes the hardest moments open up something we had not thought of. What did this open for you?
How did you manage to bear this — what held you?
Alternative phrasings
This experience — it broke something that seemed unshakeable. What exactly? And what appeared in its place?
Warnings
- ⚠️ A boundary situation is not a tool for "fast growth"; do not rush the meaning-making
- ⚠️ First, the full acknowledgment of the weight of what happened — inquiry into meaning only after
- ⚠️ In acute trauma — support and stabilization come before existential inquiry
Source: van Deurzen E. 1997, 2002, 2012; Jaspers via van Deurzen
Materials are informational and educational and summarize publicly available scientific sources. They are not medical or psychological advice, are not intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment, and do not replace consultation with a qualified professional.