...do you think of him or her by name or just as T? Like, 'I really need to talk to (First name)' or 'I really need to talk to T'?

I never think of my T by first name. I never call her by her first name in person or in writing. Sometimes she will call herself by her first name to me if she's trying to point something out, but I never do.

I'm trying to figure out if this means something. I think it may, like I think of her as an idea more than an individual...or something. Any ideas?

[Indie'sOK]

I always think of my T by her first name, because that's what she goes by. With her and my old T, I've always been curious as to what their last names are I don't know why

[sunrise]

I always think of my T by his first name. I only call him T here on PC, because I don't want to reveal his name.

Sometimes people have trouble seeing their therapist as human and they expect the T to never goof up or have feelings. Maybe not seeing your T as a person with a name is a way of not acknowledging that she is a human, and a way of keeping her more distant from you, and a way of protecting yourself.

[ECHOES]

I think of her by her name. We use one another's first names in therapy so that comes natural to me.

Many of us have intimacy issues and it may feel too intimate, too friendly, too casual to you. And that's okay. Something to think about and even talk to T about.

[Amazonmom]

I always think of her by her first name. Actually, she goes by a shortened version of her first name. I have never thought of her as "T". She is well known enough in my area that if you just say that nickname, EVERYONE at my job knows who you are talking about... so I don't mention her at work LOL

[Tumnus]

I call my T by her first name even though my first instinct is to call her Dr. ______. She told me on day one she wants to be called by her first name. In my head I think of her as either name, but never as T.

[sw628]

I always think of T by her first name. I only call her T because like most I don't want to reveal her identity.

I think of him by his first name. Unless I am on PC, and then I literally think of him as "T"...like *poof* his first name turns into "T"!

[3velniai]

I never use her name. I don't need it when I talk to her and I start emails by just "hi", and I call her "psy" when I talk about something related to therapy with my bf. I just realised I don't like her name, strange isn't it?

I always think of my T by her first name, and I will use her first name if I am telling a close friend some story from therapy. I don't call her by her name much in therapy, though - maybe I should make an effort of doing that more. But she usually only says my name once or twice, when she greets me and when we say good-bye.

we call out t dr kfjfjrrjrff ...even in our head...even our other dr's call her that. some of her other pateints ncall her by her first name but we don't. (obvioulsy not her last name) we had a hard time getting the pronounciation down of her name...still really don't...but hey its close...she's off on vacation soon and asked us if we wanted to see another t in the group whose last name is even worse than hers while she was away...said forget it! can't imagine learning that name!

even with friends we always say dr dsfkdsrfd!

i do have a new kid peep going today who doesn't like dr's so he wants to only call her by her first name so it will be interesting to see how that goes....

[deliquesce]

good luck, stumpy. i am sure Dr sdffjlgk will be ok with it .

i call pdoc "dr ___". sometimes when he calls me, or writes me a letter (a, "deli you forgot to pay your bill letter" or "here's a crazy meds script for a crazy person" letter) he will sign off with his first name, but just as equally he will sign off with "dr ___" also. i like it when he uses his first name with me, makes me feel like we are close. Austin-T and the reception ppl all call him by his first name, and i like that, because some pdocs here are really pretentious and won't even let other Drs call them by their first name either. poo on them! wish pdoc would let me call him by his first name, just as a gesture, but i would never take it up, because i like him being "dr ___".

with Austin-T, i call him by his first name. that is how he introduced himself to me, and since he doesn't have a PhD i wouldn't call him "Dr" and "Mr ____" sounds too weird.

[rainbow8]

At my first session, my T said to call her by her first name, so that's what I do. I used to talk about her a lot at home, so I've said her name often. It makes me feel close to her, but maybe it would have been easier to separate from her if I had thought of her as Dr. instead of by her first name.

[fallenangel337]

I always just think of her as Dr. (insert name here). She always refers to herself by her first name, which is fine, but I don't think I would ever call her by her first name. Whenever she calls me or whatever she always says "hey, this is (first name)." I mean, yea, I know I'm talking to an actual person when I talk to her, but I can't really see myself calling her by her first name for any reason. I don't know why?

[Brightheart]

I've always thought of my T by his first name (nickname shortened version which also happens to be my son's name). I actually find it pretty difficult to keep calling him T on here. It feels impersonal and distant to me, but I also want to protect his privacy so that's why I do it.

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Originally Posted by ECHOES

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<p>Many of us have intimacy issues and it may feel too intimate, too friendly, too casual to you. And that's okay. Something to think about and even talk to T about. <img src="/images/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Smile" smilieid="1" class="inlineimg" />

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<p>Thanks, Echoes. I'm sure I should add it to the ever expanding list of things I should talk to her about! I guess I prefer to figure things out then tell her, rather than go in with a half sorted out idea. </p>
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<p>Anyway, guess I'll have to spend some more time thinking about this. I don't think it's to push her away, because when I am thinking of her its often about wanting to connect rather than to separate. Briere talks about the therapy relationship involving the therapist as a powerful relational figure. I think it might have something to do with that (like calling her by first name would decrease that power dynamic)...but I haven't completely worked it out yet.</p>

[fallenangel337]

I don't think I really have intimacy issues...whether it be feeling afraid of being too intimate, or not feeling intimate enough. For me, I think it's just a respect thing, sort of. I was always raised to address other people as Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr, etc. I guess that just sort of stuck with me. It's just weird to imagine me calling her by her first name.