Thanks for this thread! I am having a stressful morning and was quite ready to be upset by someone ranting that clients shouldn't bother therapists out of session. How nice to read the opposite perspective.

I've definitely benefitted from out of session contact. I contact my therapist frequently, however, I do pay for all her time, which I think helps keep the relationship fairly well balanced, if intense. I do worry about bothering her too much, but I must trust that after 20 years in the business, if I was, she would set a boundary or say so, when in contrast, she had told me that she never tires of reading my replies and that I do not wear her out, I am not too much for her. So... that's a relief.

I credit the close work we've done with helping me make significant behavioral and other changes in a relatively short period of time. The ability to give her real time, detailed updates gives us both greater insight. I'm very pleased to be working with a therapist who welcomes this type of relationship, and again, she is compensated for the time, so I need not feel as if I'm taking advantage.