Posted by Penny on December 18, 2003, at 13:22:38
In reply to Re: Therapy gripe » Penny, posted by Karen_kay on December 18, 2003, at 13:00:11
ROTF!!!!!!!! OMG - you are SOOOOO funny Karen Kay!!!! Thanks for the laugh.
When my pdoc eats in front of me, it's like a meal - like a sandwich or something - not like a snack. And we talk during that time - it's not therapy like with my therapist, but we catch up on the week or however long it's been since I've seen him. He's a fast eater, so it doesn't take long, and he *always* asks my permission. Note: he usually sees me at 6 p.m. or later on Friday night, and he's been in the office ALL DAY, and is sometimes there seeing patients until midnight or so. So I don't begrudge him his evening meal. I don't know if he eats in front of other patients or not, but it doesn't bother me.
As for the waiting - yeah, sometimes if he's running really behind I might wait for 2 hours or so. One time he had an emergency admit to the hospital that he had to arrange for another patient and I ended waiting even longer. I was given the option of rescheduling, but I didn't really have anything better to be doing anyway, and I had my book with me, so...
I just go to his office prepared. I bring my journal, a book, sometimes crosswords or cross stitch or something. Lately he's been more on time than not, but it all depends.
But, to me, this is a small price to pay for the amount of access I have to him. Like I said, I'm usually in with him for an hour or more. And I can page him ANY TIME day or night, and he'll call me back. I called his office one night at 11:30 p.m. and fully didn't expect him to be there, but he was, and he was on another call, and I was really upset, and he called me back and I was on the phone with him for like 30 minutes. He didn't charge me - he doesn't charge for phone calls. He's given me his home number, just in case. He helps me out with my meds. He waives part of my fee b/c he knows I can't afford to pay him the entire amount I'm supposed to pay him (he does get reimbursed by insurance for their part though).
My pdoc has a very fatherly stance toward me. He's a little older than my dad (about three years) and he's the father of FIVE children, the oldest of which is a little younger than I am, and sometimes when he's talking to me about my work stuff or my dating stuff (mind you, he's the ONLY man I've ever been able to be really open with about those kinds of things!), I feel like he's my dad and I'm his daughter and he's giving me fatherly advice. My dad isn't anything like that, so I love it.
Sorry...I think my pdoc is the greatest thing since sliced bread... :-) He also referred me to my therapist, who I love. She is almost always on time for our sessions and is also very accessible to me, but I think that therapists are *usually* more punctual. I don't hold my pdoc's inability to stay on schedule against him one bit. :-)
P
poster:Penny
thread:291010
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20031213/msgs/291324.html