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Originally Posted by ruh roh
How would he know it's a crisis if you didn't give context? I think his response is appropriate considering you hadn't said why you needed to see him. Even if his texting guidelines are restricted to scheduling, it would make sense to say--I'm in crisis. Do you have an appointment today?
Of course, crisis has become a vague and overused term, so unless he knows what a crisis is to you, it might be important to write a brief explanation, like: I lost my job and am spiraling fast, can you see me today?
Sometimes, when it's not a crisis, but I'm just having trouble coping, I'll say something like, "I'm really struggling and couldn't go to work. It's not a crisis, but I could use support to keep from getting worse. Do you have an opening today?
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This is basically how I approach it with my T, who also only uses texts for scheduling. Like, an example from last month: "Hi [Dr. T]. Is there any chance at all that we could talk on the phone for a bit (I’ll pay!) sometime between now and, say, 12:30 Monday? It’s a long story, but I just got off of a rather soul-crushing phone call with [MC] and am not doing so great... Thanks, [LT]." He responded just saying his availability the next morning. Which was fine with me, and I was able to get in to see him. But I also gave him context for why I wanted the extra session, so he could see that there was some sort of urgency behind it. There was another time I asked for extra session or call, and I'd mentioned I just learned my uncle had just passed away, plus right before learning that, I'd had a big fight with H. He responded with "Sorry for your sadness, [LT]," then said he had availability to meet the next day (I hadn't known before that he worked on some Sundays). That little extra line of compassion from him was nice, but I know not to expect that every time.
For OP, I'd definitely suggest talking to your T about it next session. Express your disappointment in his response and say what you would have preferred. And find out: How would he want you to handle this in the future? Is there a better way to approach asking him for extra session? If he doesn't work Mondays, would he be willing to do a brief phone call? (My marriage counselor will talk on his days off, for example.)