Posted by Dinah on March 15, 2003, at 11:22:07
Some progress is being made in therapy.
My therapist answered a question of mine about my dependence on him by saying the dependence was only a stage and that eventually I would become independent. When I said what would happen if I didn't, would he kick me out of therapy, he answered that it would mean he wasn't doing his job well, but no it wouldn't be therapeutic to terminate me under those conditions.
Of course later I worried about what he meant, but I didn't panic like I would have at one time. I just asked him the next time I saw him if I had understood the implications. Did he mean that I wasn't expected to stop therapy at some point because I no longer got benefit from it. But that I would eventually have enough other coping skills that my dependence on therapy would not be as intense. And he agreed that that was what he meant.
Also, he's found someone he thinks will be an adequate substitute therapist for if I have meltdowns while he is out of town for his other job. I felt that his frequent absences were detrimental to my therapy, and asked that we try to find solutions. So I'm going to meet with this guy a few times so that if I need him he won't be a complete stranger. I don't know if it will work out. No way to know unless we try. But I identified my need and was proactive in trying to find a solution for it.
Not bad for the week between one out of town trip and another. I'm pretty proud of the improvement in the way I handled it from how I would have handled it previously. Maybe therapy is more than just a crutch, maybe I am growing some.
poster:Dinah
thread:209371
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030310/msgs/209371.html