Posted by Maria01 on December 9, 2007, at 10:29:57
In reply to boundaries in therapy/'friendship' (LONG), posted by wishingstar on December 9, 2007, at 10:07:32
Please don't be so hard on yourself. If the therapy is beneficial to you, then by all means continue. Therapy need not constitute deep, dark feelings all the time. From what I understand, the "light" stuff goes just as far in creating a good therapeutic foundation as does the more serious stuff.
I would tell her about what is presently going on for you, though...that is really important. If you're nervous about it, preface it with that "I'm really nervous about discussing this, but..." and she sounds like a good enough therapist to take it from there.
Personally, I would not do well in therapy with very tight, rigid boundaries..I work with a T very similiar to yours in style, and aside from a tought spot right now, it's been great. I've also worked in the profession as a practice manager for a relative who was a T, so each T I have worked with has breated a little sigh of relief, as I know to some degreee the nature of the profession and the people in it.
Since you are a social worker, I'm sure your T feels very comfortable with you, since you are professionally related. All that being said, do discuss your present feelings of depressin with her. My t and I have an easygoing relationship, but I remember when I really crashed with depression a couple of months ago. I adressed it withk "I really hate to break up the party but...." and we were able to switch gears smoothly. We are in a tough spot now, but we should be able to get thru it.
From what you've said, you don't have a friendship with your T as much as you have a healthy, secure therapeutic relationship. It's risky in it's own way to play it light, but it's just as necessary as the "darker" concerns are.
It sounds like you have a good enough rapport with her to discuss your feelings about this, but from what I've read, I don't think you have crossed any boundaries at all. The boundaries may be more fluid due to your profession and the therapist's style, but they still haven't been crossed. I think you're the only one who can determine if they have been or not. In either case, I don't think switching T's is the answer. A good T is too hard to find, so hang onto the one you've got! =)
poster:Maria01
thread:799699
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20071204/msgs/799703.html