I was able to make out-of-session contact, but I was pretty deliberate about limiting it to times of real urgency. So, I might go months with no need for that kind of contact, and then have a week or two when I was in crisis mode where we might touch base every day or so until the crisis passed.

It was important for me to not become too reliant on that kind of contact. Taking the time to sit with things, using other means to work through the kind of day-to-day anxiety, etc. was important for me so that I didn't default to needing that immediate feedback all the time. It helped me recognize that most of my discomfort I could work through enough to wait for a session. And, it also made it easier to contact them when I really was in crisis because they absolutely knew if I was contacting them, there was a definite problem going on that required their attention and they responded very helpfully. I had absolutely no guilt about contacting my T or my Pdoc out-of-session because I felt confident that I was in absolute need of their assistance when I made that contact.

I have a vivid memory of talking to my pdoc about this one time when I was hospitalized. He was getting ready to discharge me and was telling me to call him if needed. I said something about the answering service asking about whether it was an emergency or not. He said, "You tell them it is an emergency. You have never, ever contacted me when it was not emergency. You have never abused phone contact. There are those that do, but you aren't one of them. Just always tell them it is an emergency." (He was such a sweet, soft-spoken man.)

Out-of-session contact is something that each client and therapist negotiates independently. For me, it was important to work to handle things mostly on my own between sessions. As my therapist put it, therapy is about more than what goes on during the session; it is about be able to live well outside of session with autonomy so that therapy eventually is not necessary. That was important to me. We were on the same page; I went into therapy with the goal of getting beyond the need for therapy. Part of that process, for me, was being mindful of how I used my own personal resources healthily.

That process is different for each. Therapy needs and goals are different for each. Each person has to think about what will work best to get them through and to whatever their end-point might be, and only you can really decide that for yourself.