Posted by gardenergirl on May 3, 2005, at 1:22:16
In reply to Re: Sticky situation friends and therapy, posted by daisym on May 3, 2005, at 0:11:52
I think everyone's advice is spot on. You have the right to talk about whatever you need to in therapy, and if you issues involve another friend, well then so be it. It's up to your T to manage the feelings and considerations that come up due to his knowing something about your friend.
Incidentally, one of my friends sees my T, too. My friend and I sometimes talk about him, mostly to laugh at funny things he says or does. I have used her name in therapy before, when talking about a friend, and I acknowledged that I know she sees him too. He said nothing, and it doesn't come up at all. I did notice a certain tightening of his face that suggested he closed down for a moment, but I suspect that was just his way of keeping things separate. It has never been a problem.
And your friend may figure out that you talk about her in sessions, if the problem is very prominent. But I don't think you need to tell her about it. Your sessions are private.
I used to worry that some of the people who worked under my supervision at one point might talk about me to their T's. And then I realized that whether they did or not, they were entitled to all of their own issues to talk about, whether it included me or not. And most likely, they had much more important things to talk about than me. At least I hope so! :)
Okay, enough rambling. It sounds like your school situation is similar to mine, and these kinds of issues are inevitable. Your T has probably encountered it before. You might ask him about it without mentioning any names at first, just to see what his experience is and way of handling it.
Good luck,
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:492829
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050428/msgs/492976.html