Posted by All Done on August 5, 2005, at 13:10:19
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050801/msgs/537844.html
Ms. Lott,
First, thank you very much for being here this week. I think you can see how much we all appreciate your book. For many of us, I believe it has made a huge difference in how we approach therapy and we can feel more comfortable opening up and sharing things we would otherwise be afraid to share. Things that can really help our therapy progress.
Unfortunately, for some reason, I got it in my head that you were here until Sunday, so I'm still in the middle of re-reading your book and I haven't been through all of the threads here, yet. So, if you've already answered this or something similar, just let me know.
After I read "In Session: The Bond Between Women and Their Therapists" for the first time, I talked to my therapist about what I learned about transference and I expressed a bit of anger that he hadn't shared some of this information with me in the beginning of my therapy. I had only been seeing him for about five months, so I didn't feel like I was in the dark for too long, but I think it's likely he never would have brought the topic up himself. Don't get me wrong, he explains a lot to me and is very forthcoming when I ask questions, but he doesn't offer up much.
Do you think therapists feel that if they share with the client what she might experience ahead of time, something might be lost? And, admittedly, at first, I thought there was no way I could or would experience transference after I found out how it works. Kind of like believing in Santa after you find out he doesn't really exist. Needless to say, I quickly realized regardless of how informed I am, I still can and do experience transference.
When I see my general practioner, he doesn't just start poking around and testing without telling me what he's doing, how he's going to do it, and why. Aren't there even rules about informed consent? Why do you think therapists kind of leave us in the dark when treating us?
Thanks for your thoughts on this and, again, thanks for visiting us.
Laurie
poster:All Done
thread:537858
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050801/msgs/537858.html