Need help accurately communicating : bombed therapy appt

[NightSky]

I find email invaluable in situations like these. I don’t overuse it, and I’m fortunate that my T invites and seems to appreciate that sort of communication. If I leave and something feels undone, or if I needed more time to process a question, I’ll drop her an email after. She’ll usually respond a bit, and then we’ll talk about it in session. This has been so helpful because I’m not a verbal processor. In your situation I would email almost exactly what you wrote: “you asked ... and I said.. but that wasn’t totally true, it just happened to be what I was struggling with at the moment. Now that I’ve had some time to think...” It helps me a lot to circle back around and give her a really honest (and maybe too vulnerable at the time, to say it) answer because then she has that information and understands my experience better.
I don’t open up easily AT ALL and get super frustrated with myself after sessions. But since I’ve emailed what I’m really thinking after the fact, she now asks questions differently to help me answer and the process in person is more effective. So it’s a win win.

 

[SeekingUnderstanding]

to circle back and follow up - as I tried to process so I could move on, I found some real significance/meaning in my initial response.

I ended up sending a text to see if it was ok if I emailed her. She said yes - I was raw and vulnerable so that I could just let it go for the week - I feel so much better making some sense and then letting it go instead of weighing me down until my next visit.

So thankful.

I love when the tools work and that there’s support and an outlet when needed!

Have a great week all!

Hopefully this is my last panic driven post :)