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Old Aug 09, 2013, 12:01 PM
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amandalouise amandalouise is offline
Wise Elder
 
Member Since: Mar 2009
Location: 8CS / NYS / USA
Posts: 9,171
Quote:
Originally Posted by lifelesstraveled View Post
And T has been on the phone for almost 30 minutes. What a waste of a 90 min drive.
I agree for some people the T on the phone while client is doing something else can be seen as being inappropriate...

that said this has and does sometimes happen to me....

sometimes my therapist would get up, go to her desk and use her time more wisely by getting other things done. While I sat there twiddling my thumbs, looking around the room, texting, she would take/make phone calls during my sessions too..

how rude right..

finally one day I got angry and asked her what she was doing, I pay for this session why was she over there and not with me.

her response was...you're right. this is your time but this is also my time. when you come in here non responsive, non talkative or one word answers that get us no where, not participating, dodging my questions, and other deflecting/negative behaviors that show me you either dont want to be here/dont want to work on your problems or just need a place to be quiet and think...thats a waste of my time. you have choices and so do I. therapy isnt a one way dead end street. it takes two to travel this journey, but if you dont need me then I am not going to waste my time. Im not going to sit here and poke, pry, bribe, beg ....to get you to engage in therapy. how and what you use your time in therapy for is up to you, but I wont be wasting my time. you are free to tell me any time that you need my help with something and I will be willing to come back to the therapy session with you.

then she went back to making scheduling calls/doing her paper work/organizing files. then let me know our session was over.

After that I understood she wasnt abandoning me or being rude. She was making a point and she was just using her part of the therapy session wisely if I did not need her.

Im not saying this is what is going on in your session but just a suggestion...maybe this is what your therapist was trying to do with you....make a point that its ok for you to come in sit, say nothing, talk about anything, do anything you want and if you didnt need her at that moment she can give you some privacy and alone time while she takes care of other things.

my suggestion...maybe you can ask your therapist why she did that, maybe she had a reason that didnt get clearly communicated to you.
Thanks for this!
lifelesstraveled