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Originally Posted by ruh roh
I'm intrigued to see so many people tell a therapist not to touch them. Is this something a therapist would do on their own unless told specifically ahead of time not to? I had always assumed they would keep their hands and arms to themselves, so it never occurred to me to make this explicit at the start of therapy. I just can't imagine my therapist doing something like this, so is she not normal? Do they need to be told that's not okay?
Mine works with a lot of s/a cases so maybe that has something to do with it? Just trying to get a handle on what that must be like to have to tell a therapist not to touch.
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I've wondered about this too. I used to hug my old one at the end and sometimes the beginning of a session and I liked it, but anything more than that would weird me out. And I don't want hugs from another therapist ever again. I wonder if it's partially a cultural thing to touch more though. I'm canadian and we do tend to be colder/less touchy than Americans.
I also hug my minister and will sometimes hold her hand and pray with her. But that's about the extent of my touching. I like it that sometimes before church or if she's waiting for the music to end during a service, she'll rub my shoulder because she knows I'm struggling. It makes me feel cared for. It's a different type of relationship though.
I think I'd be weirded out by anyone holding my hand or holding me while I cry.