Only occasionally do I contact my T between sessions. I may go months without any out-of-session contact; however, if I'm in a crisis, I may speak to him between sessions or more likely, have an additional session or so with him. I only contact him between sessions if I'm truly in a crisis or headed in that direction. He knows if I contact him that it is an important matter and he always gets back to me pretty quickly. He doesn't do emails or texts, nor do I have his private number. If I need him, I call and leave a message or call his answering service which contacts him for me.

I like my T's boundaries about contact. He wants me to use the skills I have to work through my feelings of crisis, and I suspect if he allowed more contact, I'd be less likely to make myself work through things independently. I do think there is such a thing as too much availability that can lend to a sort of helplessness. Learning to sit with my feelings and anxieties, etc. and learning to use the skills he works with me on so that I can feel some empowerment in dealing with those stresses has been extremely helpful. It has helped me truly distinguish between feeling uncomfortable (which while uncomfortable isn't in itself dangerous or really a need for his help) and truly being in a crisis where I truly need some intervention.

With those kinds of boundaries, I never feel guilty for contacting my T (or Pdoc) because I know I have done what I can to work through what is going on and that I am not in any way abusing his good graces.

This is what works for me in my relationships with my T and my Pdoc. I suspect you will get a wide range of answers, and the thing is, most of them work for each individual T relationship (they are all different). I have seen instances here where T's didn't have good boundaries about contact and had to rein things in after awhile because it was getting excessive, so it is a good idea to have a frank and honest discussion about this and set up some guidelines and procedures; that way you will feel more comfortable and safe about making whatever contact you need to make.