My Support Forums - View Single Post

imapatient · Mar 12, 2009, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deliquesce

thanks for your support and encouragement, guys. i will probably go for the first session and see. but the first session is always the hardest!!

i wish they would leave the digging in to history until later.

You have control over what goes on. I've learned difficult lessons lately from meeting new T's who took things in directions I wasn't intending, expecting, and didn't want at a 1st meeting.

It's your therapy; they're just doing a job.

When you go to a car dealer you shouldn't let them run the show--or else you'll end up with the most expensive car on the lot.

Go to get YOUR questions answered. Their questions are secondary to yours. Your story is primary. They want to get an idea of who you are, what you need, and whether they can help, but it's more important for you to figure out if they will good for you to work with, not the other way around. Go in set with your needs in mind; don't let them control. It's mutual, but you're more in the driver's seat than they are.

It's not strange to want to know about someone's background. I'd never go see a T without knowing where they come from. We use the label "T" loosely here when it can mean very diff things. PhD clinical psychologist, PsyD, MA psychologist, social workers, etc. Even unlicensed. They can differ in their emphases and types of work. Ask your pdoc what he can tell you about their background: Education, specialties, types of people they work with, treatments they use/emphasize, and why he's recommending that specific person--he must have his reasons and you should know them. If you're seeing pdoc before T, get that answered, if you're seeing T before pdoc (or can see him), get some info from pdoc over the phone.