Quote:
Originally Posted by NP_Complete
P is taking another week off this week starting Wednesday. It wasn't unplanned or a surprise to me but he recently told me that the reason he's taking it off is because he is putting his dog down this weekend (  RIP O) and he wanted some time alone to be sad. I've been thinking about him all weekend knowing how hard this is for him. We're supposed to meet on Monday and Tuesday. I feel kind of weird coming in to talk to him knowing he's going through this right now. I keep thinking maybe it'll be a distraction for him. I don't know whether to say anything else to him, especially given our latest troubles which seem to have been instigated by my desire to be friends with him. I brought in some doggie cupcakes to give her at our last session. I hope that wasn't too friendly, but in my defense, they were for his dog, who I have met on multiple occasions, not him. |
I understand how this is difficult. But Dr. T would say that it's your T's choice to still meet with you. If he didn't feel in a place to do so or wanted to take the time to mourn his dog before Wednesday, he'd have done that. I agree that it's probably a distraction and may actually be helpful for him in that way.
Maybe you could say something like, "I feel like I should say something about your dog, but I also know you don't like talking about personal stuff, so..." Or just "I'm sorry about your dog. I imagine you don't want to talk about it more, but i just wanted to mention it." That way, it's not just sort of hanging out there.
Or, for the first thing I mentioned, "I feel sort of bad meeting you with you after what happened with your dog, but I know it was your choice to meet with me, so I assume it's OK." (Maybe worded a bit better than that!)
Hope your sessions go well and are helpful.