Posted by Racer on October 1, 2004, at 12:28:48
In reply to Re: Telephone policies..., posted by Speaker on October 1, 2004, at 8:01:19
That's a hot button I think hits for a lot of people, and I think your irritation is fully justified. That's the message I'd get from hearing that from a therapist, and that's pretty much my response, too: "Very well then, I just won't ever call you, because you just don't want to be there for me."
Ironically, my current therapist asks me to call each weekend to check in with her and leave a message telling her how I am. As often as not, I forget to do it. (Got a lecture about that last session, too.) Now that I have a therapist I trust to return my calls within a reasonable time, someone I trust does care and is there for me, I don't have the same sort of need to test that, I don't have the same sense of being alone and helpless -- when something comes up, I can handle it better because I *know* that I can call for help if I need to. So, instead of calling for help, I try to deal with it myself first. Much better, and I feel much more secure.
I think what Dinah wrote, about that study, makes a lot of sense to me. I think that's a great policy. And I really hope most therapists know about it, too!
poster:Racer
thread:396496
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040925/msgs/397890.html