A Choice Between Amount Of Sessions Vs Therapist

[Morphius]

I used to see my therapist twice a week but her clinic now only allows anyone to see their T. once a week because some healthcare providers ended up not paying the clinic. So I'm lost. Twice a week was vital to my recovery and I've only ever done twice a week in more than just this clinic. The thing about this is that I'm struggling a lot so would like advice.

• Do I stick with this therapist because she's the best one I have had?
• Do I seek another clinic and therapist who won't have such policy?

I'm faced with two choices and I don't know which to choose or how to decide. If it were you and you needed twice a week and you were with the best therapist you've had, would you allow yourself to struggle just to see her once a week or move on to clinics and therapists who don't have such policies?

 

[mrsmegan]

I definitely understand how hard that would be - I see my T 2x per week and if we had to reduce it, that would be hard for me as well.

If you love your T, I would suggest you try to make 1x per week work....and if you find that it doesn't, then make a move. Finding a T that you really like can be difficult.

 

[Friday]

I've learned that need & want often like to play dress up & pretend to be the other one. So, for me, if I think I need something? I generally try it the other way, and see if it's an actual need, or if it's a want. Wants can be worked around, pretty fluidly. Needs? Not so much.

Case in point, while I would personally switch to one session per week, just to see if I could work with it? There're other options to play around with. Doubling the session time, for example. Or adding in a different type of therapy or PTSD-style-activity during the second session time slot (from homework to massage, meditation to exposure therapy, social outing to therapeutic, etc.).

That way I not only get to try something & see if it might work, but stretch my own limits. It might not work. I might very well need to find a new practitioner. But making the attempt saves throwing the baby out with the bathwater on spec.

 

[Deleted member 39333]

I agree with @Friday . I think that you should keep your weekly appointment with the therapist you have, and then explore other options for something else during the week; whether that be to visit a therapist who does a different kind of therapy from what you are doing, or a scheduled activity that you might find relaxing. I think that the most important thing, though, is that you make sure that second thing IS scheduled every week; I don't think that you should just float along and maybe do something and maybe not. @Friday is right on in saying that sometimes "need" and "want" are hard to separate; for example, has your therapist ever missed a session or gone on vacation? If so, you clearly made it through that, even though it might have been hard. In your place, I would rather keep someone I knew was great once a week than lose that care entirely just because of policy decisions. And who knows? Perhaps the policy will reverse in time.

 

[Morphius]

I've learned that need & want often like to play dress up & pretend to be the other one. So, for me, if...

You are a god! Haha, just kidding. Thank you for this amazing answer, it has given me a lot of perspective!

Thank you ALL, but thank you especially to @Friday. A really, really, really thought provoking answer. A good way of being able to think.

 

[watundah]

I can only afford my T 1x per week until I meet my insurance deductible, which takes several months, then I can go back to 2x per week, so I feel your pain.

I see a difference when reduced to 1x a week as the work is not so up front and in my face all of the time. That may make progress a bit slower but not impossible and there are things like writing, reading, workbooks, art one can do between sessions. Your T can help you here.

I would definitely hang on to this one vs risking working your way thru a bunch of clunkers!

 

[Muted]

I'm faced with two choices and I don't know which to choose or how to decide.

It sounds like you feel extremely limited in your choices. it sounds like very black and white thinking (I can relate to this at times). I would encourage you to think outside of the box...

First of all, if you have being seeing your t 2x a week up to this point and your healthcare provider has always paid, why are they (in essence) punishing YOU with this new policy? That seems extremely unfair to me, to change the rules on current clients that haven't had this issue.

I get it's 'easier' for them to make a blanket rule, yet, it's not fair to the needs of every client. Especially if your provider has always paid.

Is it possible to point that out and ask them to reconsider in your situation and maybe offer to pay your portion in advance?

If you have a good fit with your current t, I wouldn't advise switching. But I get how the decrease in sessions would also be harmful. Like I said, that seems incredibly unfair to current clients who pay their bills.