Quote:
Originally Posted by sw628
Are there any topics that a T and client can't discuss? I disclosed a bit of information to T and have yet to hear a response. Part of me thinks that I offended T with my comments in some way. I really hope I didn't. T wanted me to email her my thoughts. It was regarding a pretty controversial topic. I don't know what to do.  What if she hates me?
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She is not going to hate you because you raised an uncomfortable/controversial topic. She probably just hasn't had time to respond or is not working this weekend. My T doesn't respond to emails on the weekends because he is not working.
I think if a T feels there is a topic that can't be discussed, then they should tell the client that directly and professionally when the client raises that topic. They are schooled to be direct in their communication. If the T hasn't said that topic is off limits, then you shouldn't assume you can't talk about it. If you had raised the topic in person instead of by email, you would have a lot of information on how open your T is to discussing it from their reaction, facial expressions, tone of voice, and their immediate verbal response. For controversial topics, it might be best to keep those for in person interactions.
I did notice once that my family T changed the topic rather rapidly when somehow (with my teenage daughter present), we got into a discussion of clients suing their therapists and what kind of malpractice insurance he carried.

Poor T. He didn't want to dwell on that, and actually, he wasn't too artful in how he changed the subject, lol. We weren't suggesting we wanted to sue him or anything, we just somehow got to talking about this. (Actually I remember now, he tripped over a rug in his office and made the comment that better him than a client because he didn't want to get sued.) We did find out that yes, he carries malpractice and liability insurance. (Later I looked up how much it costs to insure and it is not much for a T.)
Sorry for the detour. sw628, just hang tight and when you see your T, you can bring up your controversial topic. (You can also ask her to clarify email policies so you know if you can expect responses on weekends.)