[itsmeshorti]

Hi guys!

I have been reading the book In Session by Deborah A Lott. In the beginning of the book she talks about she was in a writing class and afterward they would all go for coffee and talk about their psychotherapy sessions. She realized they all have the same concerns in therapy, the anxiety, anger, love for their T, dependence.

It got me thinking wouldn't it be nice to have a therapy support group? Yes reading these forums is helpful, I don't feel so alone, but a human connection, a voice talking directly to me, would be nice. Like a sponsor. I go to Al anon meetings and find them very helpful. There are other people there who understand, 12 steps to follow, and you can see how they survived and gain a new way of thinking.

It could be dangerous too all of us damaged, hurt, misunderstood people supporting each other, yet they do it in AA and AlAnon. Just support.

I actually considered finding another therapist to help me understand my current state in therapy. The obsessive thinking, transference, dependence. LOL

Too bad we all live in different towns Would love to have coffee and share our tales of therapy...

Need a sponsor.

Thank you for letting me babble on. Looking forward to your thoughts, serious and silly.

[sittingatwatersedge]

I find PC to be a vast and wonderful resource - it would take a long time to list all the great features here and I think it does a lot of people a whole lot of good. My hat's off to our host, who has obviously given all this a lot of thought. and BTW I do find a human connection here. Definitely. I have no other support group - not at home, not in family, not at work, not among friends... this is it. And you know what? it's pretty darned good IMO

ya see - this is just my $0.02 - I might be able to manage meeting one on one, some day, with a couple of PC folk, but the idea of more than one at a time - no, no. I value the PC community very highly; I just don't do well with the idea of personal interface.

Maybe group therapy is for you?

[itsmeshorti]

Thank You,

You are right this site is great. It really is nice to know people have the same concerns as me. I do find comfort reading these posts, and recieving replies.

I am looking for human support in between therapy sessions. Support for therapy. Someone to call when I had a difficult session. Ya know the whole thought of "Am I doing therapy right?"

This post was semi-serious. More for fun. A nice thought to ponder having a group of people sitting around drinking coffee able to freely bash and love our T's at the same time.

[rainbow8]

itsme,

I understand where you're coming from! I used to think that my PROBLEM was that I'm addicted to therapy but after being part of this forum for a long time, I'm starting to think that the problem is THERAPY, not me. At least a good deal of it. I do have my attachment issues.

I think many of us wouldn't be as open if we were in a face to face support group. I know I wouldn't be! I find it satisfying enough to be able to share my feelings about my T and therapy here, and know I'll be understood.

Have you told your T your feelings? It helps to work them out with your own T, not someone else--generally speaking. When I terminated therapy with my first T, I needed to see another one to "resolve the transference", as I called it then. Now I know that I go from one T to another to try and get unmet needs from my childhood met, so "resolving" the transference really means "working on my issues".

I hope you'll find the support you want here. You can PM me if you want it more one-on-one. I consider that this forum IS a therapy support group!

[Elli-Beth]

I love that book! I also really appreciate this board! I've noticed this one seems to have far more traffic than the other topics that apply to me.

When I go to see my spiritual director (I've often referred to her as "my other support person") we often end up discussing how things went with my T. She has never done anything to contradict my work with T and has really helped to clarify a few confusing moments.

[itsmeshorti]

I wrote a letter to my T, I posted it on another thread today, Obsessing Over Therapy.

I am just feeling very anxious waiting for that session to come up, constantly arguing with myself about giving it to her.

Thanks for the PM inv Rainbow8. I would PM you if I wasn't omw to Alanon lol.

And damn the replies I have recieved in the last few minutes is nice.

Thanks

[karebear1]

I have to agree with everyone here. This is the best group of people- always lifting others when they are down and in return receiving the same support when needed. I cuold see how a person on person support would be nice too though. I knida have that in the form of a friend that is a therapist. He can get me to understand stuff I ddn;t think I'd ever understand!

[lastyearisblank]

Yeah that would be awesome.
I also think PC should start some kind of service for T's, for consulting on difficult cases. The wealth of collective knowledge here about every condition and treatment is amazing and just reading people's interactions with their T's has definitely motivated me to be a better communicator. (even though I'm still looking for the right T to communicate TO!)

[swimmergirl]

Dear Itsme,

I absolutely loved that book, In Session by Deborah Lott. It helped me tremendously. If you are looking for another really good one, from a T's perspective, I would recommend On Being A Therapist by Jeffery Kottler. Also excellent.
This board is my support group. I would have a harder time being honest in a group setting. I sometimes think about each of you that I talk with and wonder if I would even talk to you in real life. I think there is some therapeutic about being able to come online to a forum and help each other without the personal interface. People are more open that way. I have gotten so much support from this place and will continue to. I also like how it allows us to give back as well.

[itsmeshorti]

This is a support group I see it a little better now, ahh sigh of relief.

Thank You all for replying. Thank You all for the support.

[zooropa]

I understand what you are saying about the allure of having someone to sit with physically and share a cup of coffee with while talking about these things. In some ways I would like that, too, but I could never do it. Too much social anxiety, too hard to find a time that I works in my life, too hard to just get out of the house some days. That is yet another thing I love about PC...someone is here, any time. I can come here in my pjs and the comfort of my bed like I am now, or I can come here in crisis, having a meltdown at a bus stop like I did earlier today.

The thing that goes along with that is this: the support here is freely given and not out of some sense of obligation or pity or anything else. I don't feel like I can call my offline friends every time I am upset, or talk to them incessantly about therapy or my emotions or whatever it is. But at PC, someone is here who wants to listen. I don't have to worry or say I'm sorry or wonder if I'm pushing someone too far or crossing boundaries, etc.

[Flooded]

I don't have any IRL friends at all that I can talk too. I have my psychiatrist and my husband and I HATE talking to him about therapy etc. I see it as my struggle and I'll find support where I can without burdening him anymore than I have already.

PC has opened my eyes to the fact I do have mental illnesses that desperately need attention and expressing my feelings to my psychiatrist has to be a good thing - in the end. Right now I want to box her ears

[ECHOES]

Wouldn't a once a year f2f meeting be fun though!?
I'll rent a shelter at the park with the lake and we'll meet for a picnic and hang out a while!

[WikidPissah]

IRL? F2F! In person?

I am a non-talker, which made T excruciating, so I am really happy to have you all on here where I CAN express myself.
KUDO's to all the exceptional people on here, you wisdom, stories and problems have helped me along the way!

BTW that In Session book is PRICEY!!!

[rainbow8]

Wiki, I assume you could get the book from the library.

What does f2f mean?

Meeting everyone would be very interesting but what if it turned out one of you was a neighbor or a relative!

Let's pretend we're at the lake having a party! I like that.

[Elli-Beth]

F2F is face to face.
I got my copy of In Session used on Amazon for almost nothing

I hear you!!! I love this board a LOT, but wouldn't it be great to have an in person therapy support group to talk about therapy!!

ItsmeShorti,

I've only been posting here a week and find the support here to be amazing. I do understand the need for more direct human contact and connection. If you really crave that, You can try to get something started in you're community like post a flyer in a quaint place like a smaller bookstore or small neighborhood coffee shop. You can also try meetup.com or something like that. Just a few thoughts....

[Oceanwave]

I'd love a group meeting - in fact I proposed the same thing a few months ago, not very seriously though. Coffee and biscuits or cake would be nice. But I think most people here appreciate the cyber aspect of all this, which is understandable. This site works exactly because of the anonymity, which helps the honest disclosures you get here.