Sexualisation of the Industry Feature: Therapeutic Boundaries, Emotional Safety and the Courage to Confront

Some of the most important safety decisions in professional practice happen before a client ever steps through the door. In her contribution to the Winter Edition of Salonpreneur Magazine, Lauren Kinghorn-Evans shares a real experience of confronting a prospective client, and reflects on why emotional safety and professional boundaries must begin at first contact.

Lauren’s piece centres on an enquiry that immediately caused discomfort. The message wasn’t overtly aggressive, but its tone and implication didn’t sit right. Like many therapists and holistic professionals, her initial response was to question herself. Was she overreacting? Reading too much into it? Would responding directly feel awkward or risk losing work?

Rather than ignoring the feeling, Lauren chose to address it calmly and professionally. Her article explores that moment of decision - the hesitation, the emotional thought involved, and the clarity that followed. She reframes confrontation not as conflict, but as clarification: setting expectations early, before boundaries are crossed.

The article highlights how easily caring professionals can be conditioned to minimise early warning signs. The desire to be accommodating and client-centred can quietly override instinct, particularly in one-to-one work where emotional labour is high. Lauren challenges this pattern, reminding readers that professionalism does not require enduring discomfort.

By responding at the enquiry stage, Lauren prevented a situation that could have escalated later. Her article reinforces a key message: boundaries are most effective when they are applied early, respectfully, and without apology. She shares how she took things a step further and directly approached the person sending the messages (a personal choice for her and one she mitigated the risks for)

This piece will resonate strongly with therapists and holistic practitioners who receive client enquiries online or privately. It offers reassurance that safety is not reactive - it is preventative - and that saying no in an assertive way, when necessary, is part of ethical, sustainable practice.

Lauren’s article appears within the Winter Sexualisation of the Industry feature in Salonpreneur Magazine.