If you followed my thread about having my daughter see my therapist, you know how freaked out I got. Knowing that she would share with me about her sessions and want to talk with me about things they discussed. That was worrying me to death. It's not that I thought my therapist would like her more than me, I just knew what kinds of issues my daughter had an felt hers would dominate any conversation that she and I may have about therapy.

I knew that I would get lost in all of this and end up quitting to help me daughter. That was not what I wanted, but what I (as the mother) would end up having to do should this thing go through.

I do not think you are being unreasonable at all to ask that you NOT have appointments on the same day. After speaking with my therapist about my situation and asking her if she would honor my request of not taking my daughter as a client, she said that she most definitley consider my feelings and would not take her on if I felt it would be a conflict of interest.

I am sure that she would also make sure that we did not have appointments on the same day even if I told her I was okay with my daughter coming.

You quoted: "Therapy is a place where I don't have to feel guilty about focusing on myself for at least an hour or so, and I don't want to have to navigate the feelings I feel from seeing my friend, on top of dealing with my regular therapy issues as well."

I totally agree with you on this. It is hard enough going to therapy withour having any other (avoidable) issue hit us when we walk in the door.

I sure hope that you work this out. Please talk with your therapist about it. I sent emails to mine before our next session. She couldn't say too much in an email, but when we met she knew right off how I felt, so we talked it through. At this time my daughter had already told her that she would not be seeing her, so that freed up my therapist to talk a bit more open about it.

I can assure you one thing. My therapist will not be seeing ANY of my family members or friends I have told her about, UNLESS she consults with me first. That was something she made clear to me now that I have expressed my concerns.

Good luck in trying to work this out. You should be first priority since you were her client prior to your friend.