My T is away for a couple of weeks and usually I handle a sessionless week... Okay. There are other psychotherapists at the office I can speak to if things get too much when she's away, but like she said, 'It would be a remarkable change in character' if I were to phone.

For the purpose of this, my niece will be called Alice.

So next weekend is Easter weekend and my niece is coming to stay with me. She's autistic, has ADD and was recently diagnosed as a sociopath. Alice is only 14 and she has a struggle of her own which I completely empathise with, but will never understand (because I don't have the same afflictions as her, I have my own). I love her, I would die for her, but she is a massive trigger for me.

I have complex PTSD after years of child abuse. I left home as a teenager and reconnected with the paternal side of my family which Alice is connected to. She recently learnt my step dad was one of four abusers in my life, and because she has a step dad herself, she is now telling me horrific stories about her relationship with him which trigger my flashbacks. I know that she has a tendency to lie and exaggerate, and my family has warned me not to indulge her, but she's my niece and if there is even the smallest chance that something remotely similar is happening to her, I'd never forgive myself for not indulging her.
Alice has recently learnt of my anorexia and BDD diagnosis, she constantly talks about food, starving herself, how big or small I look, etc. She's a BIG trigger in almost all aspects of my mental health and I'm not sure how to get through the next couple of weeks without a session.

I would call the office, but I wouldn't get to speak to my T and I don't want to divulge any information to a stranger. I can't avoid my niece, and I don't know how to deal with her. I feel like this is a catch 22. I don't know whether or not to call the office and speak to a different T, will it get passed on to my T? Probably. I'm so lost.