Hugs, if wanted, Ana. I tend to struggle when my T is away, in part due to feeling abandoned and partly because I've always had this fear that something will happen to someone I care about when they're traveling (going back to fearing this about my parents as a child). Even though I know realistically something like an accident is much more likely to happen when someone is at/near home.

It really doesn't help that Dr. T will give no info about where he's going, even like general geographical area (like, "I'm going to the Midwest" or "to Canada"). We've discussed this a few times, and I've said it would help to know in case, say, some natural disaster happened, I'd know he wasn't in that area. But he still won't budge, saying it's his personal boundary. Though he said it was partly because clients would email things like, "Hope you're having good weather in California!" or something, and I said I wouldn't do that.

He does allow email while he's away, responding in a small window in the mornings. I will sometimes just send a "Still alive?" email near the end of the week, and he's said those are fine. Though the first time I sent one (maybe 6 months or a year into working together), he thought I was being funny, responded in kind, like, "You're too funny. No, I haven't been eaten by a bear." And it led to a bit of a rupture. He knows better now!

I also have the option of seeing his backup T, R, when he's out of town (assuming she's in town then). I like working with her, so I'll generally see her once or twice, which really helps. Is something like that an option for you at all? I know it's not the same, and it can be weird seeing a T for a one-off session at first, but I've found it helpful. Especially as I've built a relationship with R. (There was one he offered up when R wasn't available that didn't go particularly well.)