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Old May 16, 2016, 09:15 AM
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LonesomeTonight LonesomeTonight is offline
Always in This Twilight
 
Member Since: Feb 2015
Location: US
Posts: 22,054
Quote:
Originally Posted by ruh roh View Post
There is no way for anyone here to know how your therapist will respond. They all vary when it comes to this sort of thing. I have had bad experiences with past therapists around this topic, so when it is serious, I keep it to myself. But that's me. My current therapist has never said what her policy is, but her voicemail states to go to the hospital, so I have come to some peace and acceptance that I travel alone when it comes to this issue. (I do share when I'm down, however, just not if I have plans or means.)

Others will have different experiences, though, so if it's a concern and your therapist hasn't said, you might want to just come out and ask.
I think the "go to the hospital/ER/call 911" thing if it's an emergency is fairly standard in T voicemail messages--at least, both my T and MC have it on theirs, and I think it's on the practice's voicemail too. I think they don't want a client to count on them getting the voicemail in time (especially if it's on the office phone, like in the middle of the night). The two times I've called a T's cell late at night (once T, once MC), one of the first things they each was "Is this an emergency?" or "Do you need to go to the ER?" I think that must be standard protocol for them, too. (Though I initially interpreted the "is this an emergency" to be "Why are you calling me at midnight if it's not an emergency?" but later I realized that he was just checking.)

So I don't think the presence of that on the voicemail means anything about how the T would be if you hurt yourself in a way that would require the hospital. Though whether a T could visit you or not would probably depend on hospital policy (and in the case of a p-doc, whether they had privileges at that hospital).