Posted by Dinah on July 15, 2004, at 16:49:39
In reply to T questions, posted by Asya on July 15, 2004, at 16:04:36
I can only give you my experiences...
My therapist self discloses more than many, but not a tremendous amount. I don't see any reason to get angry about it unless she starts to self disclose for *her* welfare rather than yours, to unburden herself or to do the sort of reciprocal helping we do with friends. And if she's taking up too much of your session time, or telling a bit more than you want to know about herself, you can always tell her politely and without anger. If none of those things are true, she's probably well within the therapeutic range of self disclosure.
If medications work well for you, you will be in less distress and may feel less need for therapy. However, you will also be in a better position to work on deep seated issues because the medication will provide a safety net so that therapy doesn't become too upsetting. It's up to *you* how you wish to combine medications and therapy.
My therapist would never ever ever ever ever ever call me to see how I am doing no matter what. And I do mean no matter what. If he thought I was in imminent danger, he might have me committed, but he would consider that calling to check on me would be giving me unrealistic expectations about the limits of our relationship. But other therapists have other guidelines. The important thing is that if you want to hear from her, call her and tell her so. If you can't manage to see her in person, yet would like the support of her voice, ask her if she would be willing to do phone checkins (initiated by you) and discuss a fee schedule.
At least this would be what works best for my therapist. He's really big on self determination and my being responsible for my own therapy etc. etc.
poster:Dinah
thread:366576
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040703/msgs/366598.html