Quote:
Originally Posted by Ygrec23
This has happened to me, peaches. But the two therapists with whom it occurred (we're talking about a total of around 25 years in therapy) felt obliged to offer me, as a very longterm patient, significant financial inducements. I'd be surprised if your T didn't do the same for you. Unless she's Ayn Rand. Don't be hesitant about negotiating a different hourly rate and an intensive schedule. In my (limited) experience, a lot of T's feel they have a lot of responsibility vis-a-vis their longterm clients. Take care! Ygrec  |
Hi Ygrec23,
It's good to know I'm not the only one who has been in therapy a long time! I sometimes feel guilty for having so many issues, and for being in therapy so many years. But now i feel a bit better, knowing I'm not alone, that others have done so also.
Thanks for your suggestion. I emailed my t and she replied that if she could not get on my insurance, she would lower my rate to $75 per session, so that i could afford to see her 2 times per month. In all honesty, if i had to, I could probably get by with going every other week. But knowing my problems in the area of attachment, I think it would be a big test for me.
I'm extremely avoidant when it comes to what i call "separation pain." When i have to miss sessions, and i begin feeling that pain, it feels intolerable to me. I end up disconnecting emotionally in order to not feel the uneasy, anxious, or longing feelings, which i actually feel in my physical body. I had alot of separation trauma with my mom as a baby and young child, and missed sessions trigger this old stuff for me. I know it's more about the past, and not the present with my t, but the emotional/physical "fallout" is the same. It's a PTSD thing, and it feels just as awful as it did back when i was a kid. So my way of coping is to disconnect. If 2 weeks or more pass, then when i see my t next, i have a wall up around myself again, and we have to work to take it down again. It's a little hard to explain.
Anyway, I am rambling.