what justifies multiple visits?

i see T once a week and sometimes i feel like its not enough. its not an issue of not being able to function without his help. i dont really have panic attacks or anything. theres so much going on inside my head right now and before i wasnt even aware of it and now i dont know what to do with all of it. T helps me process it and just get it out. does that justify more than once a week. and if i cant afford more than once what are other ways to relieve the "overwhelm" of thinking and feeling going on. i have a journal but it doesnt really help. its just there as a "dont forget to tell T" this. we dont do email...ive never asked but i dont think id want to. i dont want to bother him outside of appts. just curious what you guys do?

I see my T twice a week, but that just started recently. I like it - I think I'm making more progress and I stew about things a little less in between sessions. I started because T thought (rightly so) that I needed the extra support.

I journal my sessions. I write down what we talked about and especially things that my T says. It helps me process it and let it go a little more than if I had to just rely on my memory. I also keep a list of things I want to talk about, but for me, the important thing is to record what happened during my session.

Hey, struggling2!
I have the same issue with you. I only get to see my T once a week for 45 minutes and I can't afford to see him more ofter. Mine also doesn't do email and we have no contact whatsoever during the rest of the week.
You can also ask him (that's what I did) if it's ok to write to him during the week, kind of a journal, and give it to him so that he can read it during the rest of the week and discuss it with you on your next appointment. This way you won't forget about anything important you need to share, plus you get to write it down and express it when you feel you are in the mood for it, and not necessarily during the 45 minutes of the session. I think it's a good way to feel close to your T when he's not around.

I think wanting to meet more than once a week could indicate you are really ready to make swift progress (it can also indicate other things too). Do you think that is the case for you? I suggest sharing what you wrote with T, and asking him ways that you can work to make progress outside of your sessions. This may help satisfy your desire for swift progress--if that's what is behind wanting to meet more often. If you're needing help containing between sessions, your T can help with that too by teaching you coping skills, etc. During the phase when I was making the swiftest progress, I found journaling enormously helpful. By journaling, I was able to understand things better because writing about them helped me process. That helped get things out sooner and some of the stuff I didn't need to take up in therapy, because I had dealt with it on my own. So the journal needn't only be a "don't forget to tell T" memo pad. Just a small example: my T and I did dream analysis together on significant dreams. I learned the method well enough to be able to effectively analyze my dreams on my own (in my journal), so I didn't need to bring all the dreams to session. I agree that email is not the best solution. Good luck.

do you just "snail mail" it to him?

I go twice a week every other week and once a week the other weeks (except this one due to our schedules not jiving...and I'm freaking). My reasoning was that I need extra support because I know I'm about to work through the hard stuff at the same time I'm taking on a risky new role at work.

I can also email between sessions to let her know what's going on. Occasionally she replies, but mostly doesn't. It's good to get it out sometimes, though.

I think this is a good portion of it. I figure the more I actually get in there and talk and pay attention and sort out....the faster im going to be "better". There's no since in prolonging it. Ive buried feelings for so long I feel I need to "get on with it already". Its also so new to me...all this talking and thinking and paying attention to feelings. So its like I need to do something with all of it! He's really the only person I talk with about emotions and serious things. Its a "first" for me so i fear getting attached to that but maybe its part of the process that needs to happen? I have a lack of emotional connection with people in my life. I unintentionally keep them at a distance. Part of me wonders if I hurry up and let that kind of relationship happen with T in a T setting instead of dragging it out week by week that eventually I will learn how to do it in my own life and T can still be there in the wings if I need him?

I like to read a book related to whatever I am working on in therapy. Your Therapist might have some suggestions for you. Workbooks are great help for me too as I am not into journaling either.
Raeding is good. There might be self-help group that meet in your area that would be related to whatever work you are doing right now in therapy.

Good luck

Carla

I've been finding once a week difficult too but cannot afford to go more - can barely afford to go as it is. There was one time I really freaked out and asked for an extra session, and that was amazing, but a one off situation. I'd been finding it harder and harder to last the week - I think down to attachment now I've finally 'let her in' - but recently I've started emailing T to get some of these things out - things I couldn't say in session, things that occured to me after session, times when I feel like I need to connect... etc. It started out that I emailed her when I was upset, but she assured me that email was okay and we've gone from there - she's said she doesn't mind me emailing, and I've found it really helps me. Over the Christmas holiday (before our emailing agreement and when I didn't want to bother T) I journaled extensively - wrote down all the things I wanted to tell T about how I was feeling etc, like a 'Dear T' every day, and our first session of the new year I gave it to her to read. That helped get me through - because even though I knew it wasn't an instant connection, it made me feel better to know she would read what I was writing down.

I too feel impatient to make progress, and sometimes the weeks just seem so long and I feel like I'm wasting time, that if I could go more often I'd make progress much faster... but, I think sometimes the time in-between to process it all is useful too (Or maybe that's just what I tell myself ).

I once asked for an extra appointment because I was having a challenge that week. The t had an opening and I went. The t did not making having the extra appointment feel like I had done something wrong (she did get paid for it -- so it is not like it was a favor) but she did become overly effusive about the fact I had come to her. That part was a bit much for me.

I have also gone to see other ts on weeks where I wanted a different perspective on something. So I throw it out there as an idea to consider or not.

I give him my writings at the end of our session and he reads it during the week (not when I'm present, I'm not ready for this!). And we discuss them in our next session...

My T suggested I go twice a week after I had a few emerg. Visits with him besides the weekly standing appt. Mostly for crisis mode which seems neverending.

I only go cause my insurance covers it mostly *for now* but when they don't, not sure if I can afford twice a week.

I'm not really sure to relieve the in between crap cause I'm still thing to figure that out. Sometime 2x week does t feel enough :/

I understand about not wanting to bother T out of session. I felt...no...feel that way too. T eventually said I could email anytime, but I still find it hard to reach out for support. One thing tht has helped me with the inbetween is books. Lots and lots of books! This site too. I find comfort in knowing I'm no the only one feeling his way. . Good luck to u

I guess it's based on the clients needs. My T tried to offer me 2x a week visits right away. I didn't realize he had been, until the third week, and ever since then I go 2x a week. My needs are far greater than one time a week can provide, and he knew that immediately. Now I have two permanent spots, and I'm happy. I'd go more if I could.

It's funny. i went through a time in therapy when I needed extra sessions, and asked. My therapist was willing to see me but when I arrived (in a real state), I found those sessions to be the least useful of all.

It's like my whole "crying thing." If I think I need to cry in therapy, nothing. If I think this emergency session will be the "big breakthrough," it's a dud.

Perversity, thy name is Montana Cody Leone.

I have a standing appointment each week. But for the past 2 weeks, I've asked T for another session. I tell her I feel embarrassed about asking for more instead of being patient until my next appointment She is so great. Not only does she always find me a slot when I request another appointment, she makes sure to tell me that it's o.k. and if I feel pulled to ask for it, then I must feel I need it.

The expense is problematic though. I try not to add on sessions during the week too often but when I really need to talk to her, I make the request. And lots of times she gets me in the same day I make the request. Sometimes I think she offers me her lunch hour and so it makes me really appreciative of her.

I used to think the mcl in your user name stood for medial collateral ligament. But I guess I could be forgiven for that. My son and his friends played football in high school and every time I heard "mcl" it was because someone had torn one.

DOCTOR Montaña Colby Léon! DocJohn posted somethin somethin about Dr Dr under Rules and Regulations. Clear as Dr Mudd, but maybe that's just me!

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I think if you're having a really difficult time in between sessions then you should ask for more time. A week can seem like an eternity when you're suffering and struggling. Hope it will work out for you.

We go twice a week and have long sessions. I have DID. there are 20 of us inside constantly in line to talk to T. Never enough time for all of us.

I did 2x a week for a bit, then back to once...did double sessions a few times too. I can't really afford it right now, and I am feeling kind of icy towards T so it's good that I am only going once. I find a Dear T letter in my journal every couple of days to be helpful for me. Sometimes I email once in between sessions, he likes when I do that so I am over the "bother" part.

My emergency sessions have been a mixed bag. On the whole, they were disappointing. They neither solved a crisis nor prevented one.

T would rather have an extra session than a pile of hate mail, but it's not for her benefit, is it?

I've always thought that given the choice, I would see T as much as she would allow me. Frankly, I'd move in with her if only she'd allow me. But interestingly, when I did go twice a week (the maximum, since T only works in private practice two days a week) for about three weeks last summer, it wasn't very effective at all. It didn't feel like we were getting more work done, I didn't feel closer to her, and I wasn't sorry to go back to once a week. Which is lucky, because paying T £240 each week would be completely impossible. It always felt like a safety net though to know that if Wednesday went horribly, I could ask for a Friday session rather than waiting till the next week. I rarely did this because of the cost, and she could usually fit me in.

I think what consitutes an additional session, is if you FEEL you are having a bad week and can't wait until your next appointment time. I often find that I need a bridge between my sessions and I was going to a group until I couldn't afford it anymore, and now I feel like I need to see more than once a week. But, what I do, before I call asking for an additional session is just try to check in with myself and explore why I feel I need to ask for one. I also try to some ground exercises and meditation to see if that helps, and if it doesn't-I'll ask T if I can come again that week. Most often, T will ask me what I hope to gain from the additional session. Sometimes I just find that hearing her voice on the phone makes all the difference and I just needed to connect.