I can contact my T by phone or email. If I am upset or really depressed, I usually call her to leave a voicemail and she calls me back. I'm surprised at how often she can help just by listening and offering a bit of feedback or empathy. She generally says that she's glad that I reached out and encourages me to call again if I need to. It has helped me open up and learn that I can rely on people, even when I feel like a total mess. It has also showed me that people want to help and that it's okay to ask for support and that good people will not resent me for having emotional needs. This is gradually bleeding over into the rest of my relationships. Sometimes she has other things going on so she might take several hours to call back or she might only have ten minutes to talk, but she makes it very clear that it's not my job to take care of her or to decide how she spends her time. I honestly don't think she minds being there when I need her, and that has been the most astonishing part.

Generally my T only uses email for scheduling or logistical things, but I have tested the waters on using it for getting a bit of reassurance or just needing to know she is there. (Not often, but sometimes.) She has gradually gotten a bit more verbose in her responses. She has even responded well to an angry email (followed up by an exchange that started to repair things), although I think that could go badly quickly if you don't have a strong understanding of each other. But email has been helpful for me to have her words to look at and return to later when I want or need to see them again. So both methods have their place in my therapy, at least.