Are You Buying Your Therapist A Christmas Gift?

[faraway]

An old flatmate got a gift like that a few years ago - she loved it! :)

 

[Ruckster]

My T brought me a gift during the summer from his vacation to Hawaii. It was a small hand carved turtle refrigerator magnet. I love it.

I am getting him a small gift. It is a $6 movie. "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy".

There is a short story behind it. I have a little company that was having growing pains mostly because my PTSD was making me think of worst case scenarios and I was chicken to take a giant leap and move it out of the basement and into an actual commercial spot. My T helped me work through those fears and he and his wife came to my grand opening. One of the things in my "store" are towels embroidered with the little green alien from that movie and the words "DON'T PANIC". They purchased a set of towels and I asked if they were familiar with the book or the movie... they never heard of it. He just liked the "Don't Panic" part.

The story is about some intergalactic travelers... not going to tell the whole story here but the moral is that a towel is truly the handiest object in the universe. You can use it for a blanket or a coat or a pillow or a hat, etc... and if you take it everywhere you go people will think you REALLY know everything and you are the most prepared person as you have everything you could possibly need... you have your towel.

 

[Smushroom]

Wow, that's awesome Ruckster, I think your T will like it! And I like that it is a thoughtful gift. Gifts don't have to be extravagent to mean a lot to the person you are giving it to :)

 

[KP the nut]

I had only just began seeing my T at Christmas so I didn't do even a card. However as we got to know one another and shared a wicked sense of humour I did buy him a gift.

T knew when I first went, although I worked hard and followed his suggestions, I was a bit of a sceptic. Eventually, he had the last laugh as he would joke to me that yeah, the psycho babble works. Two weeks later, I presented him with a mug. Written on the side were the words 'psycho babble works'. He loved it.

When I finished seeing him, I wanted to buy him something special. One of his grounding techniques was to ask me to find 5 new things in his office, he would add pictures, plants etc. So I bought him a beautiful glass friendship ball.

 

[BloomInWinter]

I give cards with real sentiments in them.

...that, and occasionally homemade marshmallows.

 

[faraway]

Yum - home-made marshmallows?! Are they easy to make? :hungry:

 

[Queen Boudica]

I decided to give my p some of my home-made mince pies. I was very apprehensive about this and did not even know whether I would sum up the courage to give him the pies and I was stressing that I would be upset with myself if I did not give him them.

Then, in the middle of the session, I was talking about how I had made mince pies the day before for a social do I was supposed to go to and then chickened out of going to the social do because I felt so awkward and out of place and overwhelmed anyway by the events of the day, so I turned round and went home and cried instead.

Then I said to my p "And by the way I have some mince pies for you." and took them out of my bag. Turns out he loves mince pies and was really pleased. :)

I did not sum up the courage to say thanks for all his help over the year.

However, now I am stressing about whether the mince pies were up to my usual standard and whether he will actually like them or hate them and think I am a really bad cook. :banghead: :cry:

 

[anni]

Oh, those pies said ' I'm terrible at being able to say Thank You, but you're a T and you know that-here's-some-very-good-pies-instead. ' Mince is kind of rare, bet he loves them!

I posted this about a previous Christmas- I give mine home-made nutroll. Yep. Every year.

 

[ms spock]

No I didn't. But I think it is nice that people do.

 

[Smushroom]

Well, I gave my T her gift. It was awkward. We chatted for a bit. Then she gave me something. I was knocked for six. I didn't know what to say. I said to her that I had her gift in my car, and I was going to do the 'chicken' thing and leave it for her after she left. Well, I tried to say that, but mumbled a bit. She said something like I better not have bought her a live chicken, because she wouldn't know what to do with it. That made me smile. She broke that awkwardness. She has a great way of doing that.

I gave her the card I wrote for her and she read it and put it up on her bookshelf. I rushed back down to the car and got it out and went back and gave it to her. I think she liked it. She laughed. But it was really awkward. I texted her after and said I feel panicky and guilty when someone gives me something, and I apologised if I seemed weird about it, but I loved what she had given me and thanked her for it.

I don't know, I had a bad feeling she was going to turn around and say sorry, she can't take my gift. I would have died, absolutely died. But she didn't. And at least I made her laugh :)

Maybe next year I will feel comfortable enough to just give it to her. We'll see :)

 

[Lionheart]

I once gave my "t" a Christmas gift, but embarrassingly enough, it was a little inappropriate. It was just too personal of a gift, so I traded it for a small pine tree, which she planted at her house and so, she now has a permanent reminder of our time working together. I am glad it worked out that way as she was a fantastic therapist and really went out of her way to help me heal.

 

[Lucycat]

Tonight I gave my T a small Christmas gift. I think he will like it when he unwraps it.