Quote:
Originally Posted by peaches100
Hi Amandalouise,
Thank you for pointing out the lack of confidentiality/security with email. I have known it wasn't secure, but have "taken my chances," so to speak, hoping no one would inadvertently read them. I've been feeling lately that perhaps i need to be more careful in this regard. I have divulged things in email that would cause great embarrassment if it were to become known by others. I need to remember that while it may feel secure and anonymous, it really isn't.
I love what your t has done in setting up individual mail boxes for private correspondence between t and client. I would very much like an opportunity like that! I don't think my t would do it though. She has said she often doesn't have the time to reply to my email. I figure that if she can't take time to type a short response, then handwriting one would take even more time. I think it's very cool that your t is willing and able to take that kind of time to ensure that her clients can communicate with her privately and confidentially.
I had the thought while i was reading your post that maybe i don't always know the difference between an "adult" need and a "child" need. For example, I often feel like i want my t to sit next to me and/or hold my hand for a minute or two. I've assumed that this a child need? But maybe not? As an adult, I have alot of fear of intimacy and closeness with others, so could it be an adult need, in that i am trying to bond in an adult way also, and not just in a child way? I dunno. I've rarely ever asked my t to actually do those things, though, as i feel that maybe it is wrong since I'm an adult? What do you think? Is wanting a measure of closeness or physical comfort when you're in pain an adult need or a child need?
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needing closeness with a therapist is both a childs need and an adult need. many times I have while being in my adult state of mind, asked my therapist to sit closer, taken my therapists hand, needed to be held while Im feeling sad, upset, unhappy. my child parts when they were separate from me actually refused closeness during those times. they were the parts that has the traumatic memories, so naturally they did not trust adults nor want to be touched by them when given the choice and would not ask either. it is only after I integrated that I enjoyed being held while crying and remembering the past. my adult and fully aware self didnt mistrust adults because up until I integrated I didnt have those traumatic memories to hinder my involvement with adults.
your therapist not having time for emails.most therapists check their email (on a computer) during their off work times. I too dont have time during my off the clock hours for checking and responding to emails and neither does my therapist.
the emailing that is set up for my therapist and her clients is during work hours and is part of our therapy sessions. how it works is when I go in for a session sometimes I check my "inbox" to see if my therapist has put any "emails" into it. I write my "email" to her either during our sessions or at home and bring them in.
As part of the preparation for our sessions (usually during that 5 minutes between her last client and mine) my therapist does a quick look through her "inbox" to see if theres anything from me. either during our sessions she says I got your email thanks do you feel like talking about it?
this way 1. she gets paid for it under my insurance for therapy work with me and 2 since its a part of her job not done during her off work hours there isnt that conflict of where to fit in emailing to clients during her own family time.
or later that day during her time that she writes up the client session /notes for the files, she writes her short "email" response if she has one.
our emailing program with my therapist is sort of like how some people will write journals or letters to their therapist, bring them in and the therapist reads them and you talk about that journal or letter. its just another way for clients to have for talking about anything they need / want to discuss with the therapist. sort of like the idea of having a comment box so that clients can bring things to the attention of the therapist, let the therapist know of any problems.