Posted by Dinah on September 17, 2008, at 22:00:57
In reply to unprecedented therapy feelings *long*, posted by raisinb on September 17, 2008, at 11:59:57
My experience with even minor absences is that I develop a lot of self protective thoughts and feelings.
I think I'd be feeling a lot of the same things you're feeling. I'd also be feeling angry with my therapist, in a way that I might not have felt was logical or "nice" enough to express.
I don't know the answer. It is a legitimate interruption of your therapy. It is an intrusion of her life into the therapy relationship and therapy space. (Literally even.) You will have to deal with her absence for a very long time. I'm actually a bit surprised at how long. My son's therapist had a maternity break, and wasn't gone anywhere near six weeks. I'm guessing she didn't take on any new clients, but she made an effort to find someone to stay with the baby long enough for her to meet with a her long term clients for the sake of continuity. Maybe that's because she's a child therapist and she realizes how long an absence can seem to a child. But... Well... I'm not sure I'm any different.
My therapist's six week absence was very hard for me. It would have been even harder if I wasn't so shell shocked and confused. Even so, I did consider while he was gone that he was gone for good. I made plans for my life without him. And I was pretty angry with him.
I understand it's not her fault. And I know she hasn't done anything wrong. But those feelings don't have to be logical.
This is probably the completely wrong thing to say, but if I were you I think I'd do whatever I needed to feel safe. Including feeling negatively about her, or including feeling detached.
poster:Dinah
thread:852457
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20080906/msgs/852566.html