I don't think those are the main 3 things I do or in that order--everyone has different stuff they need to do in therapy. We do a lot of things that are part of our process and they are all kind of all mixed together. It isn't linear.

I can't say my T has really set out to help me deal with overwhelming stuff, as in here, use these skills. Sometimes T's "strategy" for dealing with emotional stuff is "just feel it!" He says I can do that in his office to make it safer for me and he can help contain. I think he's pretty big on the idea of therapist providing containment. It's kind of like boosting the ego strength of the client by his Presence (with a capital P), so the client can feel the hard stuff and survive. Or sometimes we just talk about those overwhelming things, or try to, and talking about them helps them be less overwhelming (perhaps that's kind of like exposure therapy?). Part of my problem is avoidance--if there are intense and overwhelming things, I just avoid them. So T helps me not avoid them by working on them with me. But he also doesn't push to go too fast. He is very respectful if I back off of a topic if it becomes too much. I appreciate that. If I feel he is backing off too much, I tell him I need more help not avoiding and that it is OK if he doesn't back off. He likes to hear that as it helps him provide therapy that is what I can handle and is helpful.

SoupDragon, do you feel you are ready for "more" and your T is stopping you from going too far? Do you think your T could benefit from reassurance that you are able to go faster, further? (If you think you are ready?)