[Symbiosis]

Wondering if anyone ever has had a double session in T and how that came about. Did you request it? Did your T suggest it? If you don't mind disclosing the nature of why you needed it (even in general terms).

I'm thinking there is something that will take 2 sessions to get through. One for me to "get there" fully instead of with missing information and one for us to talk about what I have disclosed. I hate the thought of either having to wait a week in between, cutting down the preamble and trying to jam everything into one session, or even waiting overnight to discuss (like last appt of the evening and then the first of the next morning.)

[bpd2]

It happens unintentionally for me sometimes, and it is exhausting. What I've been trying to do to avoid that (bec when I become exhausted I can't remember well, nor can I think well), I've been trying to separate fact from feeling and take them in order, leading up to what I am asking for from my therapist. If I don't separate the 2 first, then I go back and forth between them, unproductively, and confusing us when we are already under pressure. This is a technique my therapist is asking me to use. I struggle with it, but it is well worth it. When I fail at it, it wastes a lot of emotion and energy, so I'm "on-board" with it, even though I fall off the train a lot. That said, I'm sure it depends on the nature of the issue, AND it depends upon what your therapist wants to do in terms of your stability, etc........of course..........

[rainbow8]

My sessions with the T I've been seeing since February are always 90 minutes. For years I had regular 50 or 60 minute sessions with other Ts. It never seemed enough time. At my first or second appointment I told her that and she asked me if I wanted 1 1/2 hours. Just like that! She wasn't even going to charge more until she realized insurance would pay if I paid more.

So now I don't feel rushed and I think double sessions are great. I think it would work very well for you in this case to have more time and not have to wait in between. Why don't you ask your T what he thinks about the idea? I know 90 minutes isn't quite double, but it seems like it is to me.

Good luck! I hope it works out for you.

Never planned, but in times of emergency, my sessions have run easily two to three hours at times.

[seventyeight]

hi symbiosis, i've done "double sessions" (90 minutes), but only for certain circumstances.. we did a "rebirthing" session that took longer than a normal session, and then couples therapy was always 90 minutes as well.

how long would your double session be? my suggestion would be to pace yourself and have a built-in break in the middle. i think it will be helpful given your reasons for wanting to do it in the first place, and i know that my therapist would be open to something like that if she thought that the "getting there" was going to take a while. do you think your therapist will accomodate you?

[Perna]

I had only 100 minute sessions with my T, once a week for nine years. She suggested it (we had seen each other before) and it worked great, plenty of time to get things worked on and go at one's own pace. But I had had a lot of therapy before so knew how it was done and didn't have many problems like not wanting to talk or anything so it wasn't ever too much or not enough time.

[jilliebeanmn]

I have not, but have seen him 2 days in a row in a crisis situation.

[WePow]

I had a four hour session once - but it was a very special situation and I had brought in an expert in the stuff I am dealing with so T cleared his calendar for the morning just so we could do the work we needed to do. It was powerful and intense.
Other than that, there have been times T will go over (like yesterday) if I was in the midst of the heavy stuff. And there have been times when we know something big is going to be worked on and he will set me up for two days in a row - or three even.

I think the big thing to do is just work it out with T and talk about why you need the extended session and what will be accomplished. Most Ts will do whatever they can do to accomidate special session requests if it is in the clients best interests.

[with or without you]

No, and I've never requested it....oh I could talk to her all day long, but this stuff is pretty intense and it's probably best for me to keep it at 45 minutes.

[zooropa]

I asked my T if I could see her twice a week while we are doing trauma work, and she said no but I could have 90 min sessions (90 therapy minutes, 75 actual minutes, lol). We've been doing those longer sessions for the last year or so. It is going to be really hard to go back to 50 min sessions.

[SenatorPenguin8081]

Originally Posted by Symbiosis

Wondering if anyone ever has had a double session in T and how that came about. Did you request it? Did your T suggest it? If you don't mind disclosing the nature of why you needed it (even in general terms).

I'm thinking there is something that will take 2 sessions to get through. One for me to "get there" fully instead of with missing information and one for us to talk about what I have disclosed. I hate the thought of either having to wait a week in between, cutting down the preamble and trying to jam everything into one session, or even waiting overnight to discuss (like last appt of the evening and then the first of the next morning.)

Hey Symbiosis.

I almost ALWAYS have a double, and I think those run 90 minutes give or take. My T originally suggested it and now I don't usually deviate, although he now gives me the choice. The main reason is because of my ADHD and anxiety combination--- it is VERY hard to focus and talk and make any sort of progress. I have been known to throw even the most adept of therapists off the track

I think talking to your T about your thoughts on this is important. I wouldn't hesitate to share my fears of wasting time or making myself emotionally destroyed due to an inadequate session, and I have expressed such on many an occasion so that he understands me.

[sunrise]

My sessions with my T are 90 minutes every 2-3 weeks. When I cut down from a weekly session, we first tried 50 minutes every two weeks, but that didn't work well, so we went to the longer sessions. They are wonderful!! Yes, my T was the one that suggested it. I told him some of my frustration with our infrequent, short sessions and he suggested we make our regular meeting time 1.5 sessions. It has truly worked great. I needed the longer time because it took us too long to connect without having seen each other for a while. By the time we connected, there was not enough time to do much work.

Also, when I saw a different T for my kids during the divorce, our first meeting (just me and her) lasted 4 hours. It was a very efficient way to get through a lot of material instead of dragging it out in weekly sessions over a month.

Synbiosis, if your T won't schedule you for two sessions back to back, you might be able to get some of the same benefit from two sessions on consecutive days.