how do you address your therapist?

That's awesome!

first name both T and pdoc. i say my T's name a couple times per session, i say. my T also calls me by a name only my close friends use

I've always called my t's by their first names, no matter what their degrees were. I call my pdoc Dr.

by their first name but they have to be ok with it

I call my T. by his first name. He is a Psy. D. It was funny he introduced himself at first session as first and last name. I asked him what I should call him and he said first name. It would make me uncomfortable calling him Dr...... I use his first name the beginning of every session now....I walk in and say "How was your week, _____" That's our joke cause i once told him he needed to come up with another break the ice line to start our sessions.

All by first names except one, a pdoc who did therapy only. I called her Dr.
My daughter called one of my Ts Dr. because of her age. (daughter's age) I saw the same T and called her by her first name. They all said to call them by their name except the pdoc was a lot older than me and it would have seemed disrespectful.

I don't use my T's name much either, except when I email and write Dear T, or just her name. Once she said "____ and you will do it together", using her name, and it sounded weird. I have trouble calling people their names in conversation, even my family.

I call my therapist by her first name. I love her name. I don't know anyone else called it. I think if any Therapist asked me to call them Dr______ I would be totally put off them immediately I think. A Pdoc is different as they do usually go by Dr.__________.

I call T by his first name.....When he's left me voicemails in the past, he's referred to himself as Dr. (last name)...and then gradually changed to it his first and last name...then ultimately, just his first name. (He rarely calls me, but this post has me thinking of the progression, LOL.)

In group T, people refer to him as either FIRST NAME....or DR. (LAST NAME).....

I don't call my T anything. I am of course aware of my T's name, but can't connect them with it.

I call her by her first name and my kids call her Dr first name. Same with my gp and any other doctor of had.

this just made my night! thanks for the grin

i've considered bringing in posts from here and i KNOW i would do that very thing... which is why i'm cracking up now.

i also want to start calling my sessions with T "T time" because that also cracks me up.

i'm a little looney right now, folks.

I have almost called my T "T" in a text but I caught myself luckily. Too many hours on PC...

as for T, we've talked a few times about what people call him/how they address him. he said i can call him whatever i want, and that it's amusing to hear people answer their phones in his waiting area because he can hear the various nicknames people have given him. he doesn't like to be called doctor, though.

odd as it may seem, for much of the last two years, i've called him by his last name _____. just in the last few months, i've started calling him by his first name part of the time. when i talk about him to family/friends, i call him by his last name. i don't like calling him by his first name though... but i think he prefers it.

it's almost like i've used his last name as his name for so long, that his last name IS his name. like if anyone watches house? you know how the characters are known by their surnames--house, chase, cuddy, cameron--rather than their first name? sometimes in episodes where first names are used, i'm like, wait, what? who?

so, yes. when he leaves messages for me, he says his full name, no doctor.

I never say T's name unless I'm leaving her a voicemail - then i always say Hi T, it's Jadedmoonbeam. When she sees me in the waiting room she always says my name.

that's funny!

i call mine by her first name, usually when i'm saying hello (like "hi, therapist!") or occasionally when i'm leaving. when i've gone to couple's therapy before, i've seen (well, heard) my (ex) partner say, "goodbye, therapist" so i'm more hesitant to use her name in the goodbye (like saying what my ex says) as i don't want my therapist to associate the two of us, get us confused, or think that we think/are similar, etc. i also say my therapist's name when i'm making a point, but usually i blurt it out without really thinking.

i do like her name a lot, and i don't know anyone else by that name. it used to drive me crazy (i'm not sure why) when she used to call me on the phone and say, "hi, this is firstname lastname." i'm like, "your the only 'firstname' i know! and really, do you think i don't know who this is by now?!" so i actually told her how i felt, and she stopped referring to herself that way. (well, occasionally she'd slip, so when i called her back i'd say, "hi firstname lastname, this is firstname lastname." i think she got the hint lol). i really have no idea why it bugged me so much (too formal? too impersonal?) and looking back on it, it seems really controlling that i would ask her to make that change for me.

i've been tempted to ask her if she has a nickname, as both of her sisters do (which they go by most of the time, as far as i can tell). haven't asked her yet though, but i think it would be really interesting to hear if she does. i wonder if that would sort of change my "perception" of her.

i tend to avoid using her name at all.i did when i called her though.i said hey first name.she used her name the few mesages she has left me when she has called me about things.i tend not to use peoples names.my T uses my name a lot in T and it feels strange.she will always say GRANITE and then ask a question or say something.it makes me feel like she is angry at me or something.

Me too...

There is a lot of cultural and emotional "power" dynamics in knowing and using someones name.
My first T I called Mrs.______ because I wanted to respect her as a person and elder but was terrified that she was a T... a T with a PhD.
My second T I wanted to call Dr ____ but her last name is a slang term for a private body part and we were working on CSA... Yeh... gave in and used her first name!
Using someones name has a lot more power than most people think. Respect, mutuality, disrespect, roles, identity.... there is SO much wrapped up in a name.
Has anyone changed what they call their T in the progress of their work?

Ditto. My T is the only doctor I address by first name. I probably say Ts name every other session? Usually when I read a letter, it starts with "Dear T" so that's when I say it. I did ask my T in my second appointment, how I should address her, if she wanted Dr.___ or first name, and she said it's my choice. I picked first name, keeping it a bit less formal.

I'll admit, when T says my name, in that calm, concerned voice, I melt a little...

i call him Dr._______. Of course that has now become his first name.

My T and I do this! I find the word 'therapist' difficult on a number of levels. 'T' has become a good compromise, so she'll write "I'm your T", for example. We haven't said it out loud so far, but I 'hear' it in my head so I don't think it would sound strange.

I call T by her first name and I don't write 'Dr' even on her cheques. It just feels too strange and formal.

As time goes on, 'T' and her first name do become more interchangeable in my head and I'm sure I will accidentally call her 'T' some day soon!

I find it strange hearing what other clients call her. I've heard one guy asking the receptionist how much to pay for "Dr T". And this week I was in the waiting room after my session and she came out to get the next guy, who stood up and formally shook her hand and said her name but pronounced it wrong, which made me wonder how T would handle that

I have never referred to T by anything.
I avoid using a name at ALL costs. And as such, I have no idea how to refer to said T.
Once, when T was booking another appointment, I was told, "Email me about <specific incident that was to occur the following day>... Just put my name as the header, if you remember it."
Me: O_o *awkward laugh and turns to secretary*
... If i remember.. =\ I do remember.. but I may not be able to spell it!

by "You again?"

I honestly don't think I've ever called my T anything. When I go to session, she's just there so I don't really have a reason to say her name. I've said it to the secretaries before when I've made appts or called, but I don't think I've actually said her name in front of her.

I call her by her first name. Unless I'm feeling pissy. Then I call her Dr ____...

Oh... And my kid clients say "Miss (first name)" and my adults call me my first name. My last name is waaaaaaay too hard to pronounce anyway. I'm not a doctor, so that's not an issue. And it'd just be creepy if they said "Master (first name)" (running joke cause I have my master's, sorry lol)