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Wow @TexCat can I relate to what you wrote. Maybe I should try pot with my husband. Hmmm. It's so hard to have this difficulty with intimacy. @barefoot my T and I have been working on this. I have a tremendously hard time with this as well. I trust her. But feeling exposed is so terrifying for...

Yes! Any validation of any sort and I'm immediately lightheaded and floaty. It's really frustrating. From others when they are kind I'm fine with it, because they are reacting to the persona I put forward and I guess I feel like that part of me is respectable. But validation from someone who...

Yes. I am in the same boat. I've been with my T coming up on 2 years now. I've never cried in front of her. And if I start to feel even a little emotional I either laugh or shut down. So now, for the past few months, our work has been mainly on understanding why I am so afraid of emotions and...

My T doesn't have breaks between clients and I wish she would. @barefoot i would have all of the same thoughts and concerns. It would be frustrating having someone buzz in on my session. I hate anything that's super distracting, but I guess in this case it's almost unavoidable. Unless she told...

I think it's a good idea to still talk about it. Does the buzzing happen during the last 15 minutes of the previous client's session? And does someone buzz in some time during your last 15 minutes?

That's such a good point and perspective. So healthy. When I'm always tempted to run and hide.

I would feel exactly the same way!! and I would be afraid to ask to text in case she said no lol. However my fear of the buzzer would probably be enough to push me to ask. What do you have to say into the speaker?

When you imagine yourself saying those words "that's not what I want to spent the session on..." what do you feel in your body? Does it make you feel tense, like you might feel if you were being confrontational? (Not all people feel tense with confrontation, just an example.) Is there shame...

I'm sorry you're still feeling this way. I recently got super frustrated as my T has canceled four times in the last three months (we meet once a week) and I went in and told her I feel like I went to see her for a few simple things (in my mind they are boxes with lids) that were giving me...

Couldn't possibly word it better than @TexCat did. For sure it would not be an awkward topic for your T. And that sounds like something really important to talk about.

I love this topic too! *My T lets me email her and sometimes my messages can get really long. I always preface with a "please print and bring to session to read there" if it's long but she always has them read and is ready to talk about them. *She's funny. *She divulges quite a lot about...

Hi @SpiritDancing. Welcome to the forum! How long have you been with your T? I think a lot of what you're experiencing is very normal. I was afraid at first of my T terminating with me if I wasn't well enough, and I kept bringing it up in session until she finally reassured me that she...

That's such a good distinction I've never thought to make. I don't have any answers regarding long vs short term therapy. I saw one T for two years and quit because it cost too much and I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere. It just felt pointless. That was 9 years ago. I now started...

I agree you have to do what works for you. And everyone draws the line in the sand in different places. You could apply that expectation leads to disappointment theory to almost anything, and then you might be safe from resentment, but are you living whole heartedly? Might you be missing out on...

@Junebug I have all of those thoughts too. And often they hold me back from emailing. But when I know there's something I have to process, I try to push past those fears. Even with my T always saying she's glad we have that method of communication I still never believe her, feel like it's not...

yes, that's very true. I had to talk to my T very early on about email expectations. We had to be very clear on how I was feeling if she didn't respond, and come up with a plan that worked for us. (For me, just a line that she got it and we would talk about it is enough.. usually she responds...

Brene Brown.. she's my go to for all things vulnerability-related. It's all so helpful.

I'm with @Bristol on this one. Without email i would be much further behind than I am, at least in the transferring of information portion of therapy. When I know i need to talk about something but am afraid to, I email ahead of my session. She always brings up my emails which gives me the "in"...

I am regularly reading books my T suggests and taking notes to bring to session with me. We also have done some workbooks. I don't like them, but I do appreciate how they keep the process moving forward and open up areas I wouldn't think to talk about. Often things come up during the week and I...

This is so fascinating to me. I love the idea of bringing coffee. My T always has water and sometimes coffee that she drinks. And she has a coffee table between us with fidget toys, stones, putty. I'm so frozen in session I can't imagine using any of it. I can't even take sips of something if I...

A year into therapy I read a book called I'm Working On it in Therapy (you can find it on Amazon) and it was so good. It's all about what "working on it" actually means, and how to get something out of the process. I think it should be required reading when anyone starts therapy. I mean, I...

Did she give you a reason she wants you to try not to email?

Wow. Not measuring progress by the level of pain is a game changing thought for me. Thanks for writing that. And I love the suggestion of keeping track of those small changes.

Did she give you a reason for the sudden change? I hate hearing these stories about how T's change what's "allowed" after a time of inviting it. I feel like a boundary is a boundary and those shouldn't change. If you crossed a line and she pulled it back that's different. Or if what you were...

Ok, sounds like mine. As in we go with whatever symptom is presenting itself. Which tends to feel so scattered, it's hard to measure progress. Just wondering if others had meandering sessions as well, or if it's more typical to have a trajectory that sessions follow.