Posted by DaisyM on March 22, 2004, at 13:59:01
In reply to Shared with my T (long update), posted by All Done on March 22, 2004, at 0:41:55
Can I say I am immensely proud of you without it sounding condescending? Well, I am. That took courage, alot of it!
As far as the sincerity issue, I think what we pick up sometimes is a "technique" vs. an authentic response. And I think we have to allow both, recognizing techiques do work, even if they annoy us. Reality testing is the one that bugs me, and I usually say straight out, "I know what you are doing but I already recognize that this is an irrational response." And I think we don't trust something if we had to ask for it first. I don't know if that makes sense at all.
But I choose to believe that like many of us, my Therapist "forgets" to verbalize seemingly obvious positives, because to him it is a given. It may seem forced in your sessions a little, because your Therapist doesn't typically note out loud what he thinks is going well. Most of us point out what doesn't work, not what is going great.
And I think all Therapists have the potential to go off on tangents, assuming we need problem solving help with this particular item, instead of just empathy. It happens rarely with my Therapist, (but then again asking for help is not something I do) but I've noticed if I have a work issue, he will jump in and problem solve with me. I have learned more about him when this happens so I don't mind so much. You are probably totally right about neatness being an issue for your Therapist.
All in all, it does sound like it went well. Are you breathing a little easier now?
poster:DaisyM
thread:323840
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040321/msgs/327059.html