Quote:
Originally Posted by RTerroni
OK what you said makes me feel like I am nothing more than a paid appointment to my Therapist (which for me doesn't really hold because I have medical assistance and don't have to pay for the appointments myself) when I couldn't disagree more, I am a regular person just like my Therapist is and if we meet at a social gathering than we can definitely communicate beyond just a simple hello, even if we are there with other people in some circumstances because in most cases all of us are there for a specific purpose (our love for different types of moto-sports). I have even said this before to a prior Therapist but to see me at a social gathering might be beneficial to them because they can do some (informal) observations on how I may behave in certain public places and we can discuss that at our next session (and she can definitely give me some tips on how I can improve).
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The therapist is paid to see you, just paid by the government. They wouldn't work for free in general- the work is their livlihood. You're talking about having them work for free and cross personal boundaries and have a dual-relationship if you want them to observe you and meet up with you in a friendly way at some event.
You may have even more trouble understanding the boundaries because you don't have to pay for the session out of pocket, but try to remember, every minute you are there is paid for time.
Therapists aren't wingmen and therapists aren't friends, nor are they social coaches. What they can help you with is what you talk about in therapy sessions. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing, that they just focus on you primarily during appointments. You aren't "just" an appointment, you're a person getting psychological help, just like seeing a doctor for a broken leg, but with more ethical considerations.