Posted by Dinah on September 1, 2004, at 11:32:39
I think I'm going to go down to once a week therapy.
I know that if it doesn't work out, my therapist will be willing to go back to twice a week.
And I *was* too afraid that not needing my therapist as much meant that I was growing up and getting independent. But now it occurred to me that it might just mean that now I trust him to be there for me if I need him to be, and I don't feel the need to see him as often to feel his presence.
So that only leaves two reasons to continue going twice a week and neither of them is really good enough to justify going. One is that I'm sure the nature of the therapeutic relationship will change. It changed when we went to twice a week, so it's bound to change when we go back to once. It'll be more catching up and figuring out where we were and less intense. I like going twice a week, and I like the difference in the relationship, but that doesn't justify going.
The other reason is that I think my access to my emotions will be weaker on once a week therapy. That's what happens when he's on vacation (even long weekends where I end up seeing him once a week), so I can't see why it wouldn't be what happens if we go formally to once a week. What happens now is that the day of therapy I have most access to my feelings, I slip into rational me by the next day, but before rational me gets too much power and momentum there's another therapy session a few days later. A whole week allows rational me to gain a fair amount of power, it's harder to access the emotions again, and overall... Well, that's not really any reason to continue to go twice a week either. If my emotional connections aren't strong enough to last a week now, there's no reason to believe they ever will be strong enough. And rational me functions better anyway.
I'll like the extra time and money. And it gets kind of boring sometimes when I can't think of anything left to say in therapy. I'll bet he gets bored too. :) Anyway, it seems like it might be time to give it a try. If it doesn't work out, we can always go back.
poster:Dinah
thread:385223
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040828/msgs/385223.html