my T's body language

it appears that my problems are unresolveable. therapy has not helped to cure them much though the talking does help relieve stress. i can only afford to see my T once a week. when i do see him, my problems have proved so unresponsive to therapy (i suffer from PTSD, anxiety and depression) that my T's body language is a problem. he appears to be in pain. he sits there hunched over as if physically cringing. and the advice, well, it's not there. despite my best efforts, nothing has worked. granted, i am a flawed person. i am not a smiler and this turns people off. i suffer from epilepsy (partial complex seizures) and it strikes at inopportune times (social anxiety appears to be a trigger). there is very little that a psychologist can do about these issues. his body language seems to indicate that the situation is hopeless. is it better to bring up the subject of his body language or to seek out a new T? what do you think?

Ask him.

Maybe it's something different?

Maybe he can provide a referral?

I would definitely bring up how you are interpretting his body language and have a frank discussion on where he sees your progress, what your goals are and how can he help you going forward...

Sometimes our perceptions are skewed from the reality of the situation

Yes, ask him!

Maybe he is empathizing with you in an extreme way, like he is with you in your pain. He may care a great deal and wants to get you to a better place.

My therapist doesn't give advice. It's not that kind of therapy.
The sitting hunched over sounds like when my therapist is sitting in a way that emphasizes she is totally focused on me and intent on getting every word.

Yes, definitely talk to him about how you feel about this.

Sometimes Ts mirror what they see in you. Is that how you sit or how it looks like you might feel?

Have you looked into EMDR yet? That is one of the best things for PTSD so far. I have PTSD and my T was recently trained in EMDR. Our therapy shifted totally from being "ok" to actually helping me heal in big steps at a time.

Thanks for the feedback. I will discuss body language with T when I next see him. I have been hesitant to try EMDR again. The first time did nothing. And, I've read some pretty strongly worded articles against it. Still, I will discuss with T and reconsider. Thanks again, everyone.

Hello! It is possible that your T is actually feeling your pain on some level.
I would ask him if you are able to. My thoughts are with you!

[QUOTE i suffer from epilepsy (partial complex seizures) and it strikes at inopportune times (social anxiety appears to be a trigger)[/quote]

i also have epilepsy, and have tonic-clonic as well as complex partial seizures. However usually when i am having a complex partial - i am awake, but no one is home...
I am totally out of it if i have a tonic-clonic

i am curious, how is this related to your social anxiety??? or how is the social anxiety triggered from the seizure or does the seizure trigger the social anxiety. just curious
i also have depression, and ptsd in remission though

thanks for you help

jbmomg - there are a few things that contribute to me having a partial complex seizure. among them are lack of sleep (i recently took a night job and had two seizures where i stare into space and am not there reaction wise though i might be conscious), too much sugar in my diet (includes pasta, fresh fruit and juices), light shining directly into my eyes (especially if i have not slept well), job stresss and social interactions that, for some reason, scare me (which is common in social anxiety). in social interactions, the seizures can happen when someone says something upsetting, stands too close to me or any of the above-mentioned other triggers happen simultaneously. alcohol is also a trigger, especially if drunk on an empty stomach. by far, though, it is important for me to have enough sleep each night. that is my greatest weapon against seizures.

I would ignore the body language, to be honest. Every single thing a person does could mean 9 million different things, but we won't know which one it is until we ask them verbally. He could have some sort of illness, he could have fallen over, he could have (blah blah blah). Anything. Body language is a really flakey thing to worry about - not worth the time and is inaccurate.

I would ask him outright what the problem is. If it is important enough, he will tell you. If he doesn't, then its nothing important so don't worry about it. Probably has nothing to do with you - could be something that happened at home.

Sorry for hijacking your thread

thanks for explaining, lack of sleep, stress and alcohol all contribute to my seizures as well. another trigger for me is reading in the car. absolutely cannot ever do that...

the correlation between the social anxiety interests me...thanks for sharing. i really appreciate the extra knowledge

and as for your original question i have no idea because i never look at t... feels safer to me that way

this is what I thought too, when reading your post.
You never know - one day I asked T2 why she was sitting with her arms folded (a typical reading of this is resistance or belligerence) and she said, I'm cold and I didn't bring a sweater.

about the depression, have you talked with yr T about meds or herbals which might help you there?
and as for advice.... depending on the type of therapy yr T offers, there might be a lot, or some, or none; it's definitely worth asking about it. Best of luck to you on this! Come back and let us know how you go.