[Trippin2.0]

Does therapy teach you coping skills or does it teach you to be dependent on your T? That is IF you're going to therapy for coping skills...

[granite1]

i don't think my going to T causes me to be Dependant on my T.i think my T has aw some boundaries that keep that from happening

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by Trippin2.0

Does therapy teach you coping skills or does it teach you to be dependent on your T? That is IF you're going to therapy for coping skills...

Neither, in my case.

Incidentally, dependence on T is neither good nor bad. It's just a phase that a lot of us have to go through.

[Trippin2.0]

So that whole melting when T is unavailable, goes away? Thank god, I was a bit worried there for a second. Hope it's a phase that passes soon, it can't be easy. Thanks for clarifying CE

[stopdog]

I think it depends on the kind of therapy one is doing.

[Towanda]

I think going through a phase of dependency on your T is natural during the course of therapy, given the often troublesome issues that are worked on. What's important is keeping this feeling of dependency in perspective and not letting it get out of hand, or overwhelming to the point where we're emailing 20x a day, or feeling like we "can't live without T". That's when it becomes unhealthy, and should not be encourage by the T.

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by Trippin2.0

So that whole melting when T is unavailable, goes away? Thank god, I was a bit worried there for a second. Hope it's a phase that passes soon, it can't be easy. Thanks for clarifying CE

Not "soon". I'm talking years.

But it might not hurt so much if you don't fight it.

[stopdog]

It is probably different for everyone in terms of how long it lasts.

[Trippin2.0]

I could never put myself in that position, Idk how anybody does, but admire the fact that you guys and gals do get thru it the responses have been real eye-opening, thanks again for the input!

[healed84]

I think both in my case, but it may be different in everybody else's own thearpy. I think right now I am learning is is okay to be depend on T and my other support people, but in the process I am learning healthy ways to cope on my own as well.

[BlessedRhiannon]

Originally Posted by Trippin2.0

Does therapy teach you coping skills or does it teach you to be dependent on your T? That is IF you're going to therapy for coping skills...

For me, it's taught me coping skills...and I wasn't even really going for coping skills. My T has taught me skills to help deal with anxiety, to manage my feelings, to handle communications better. Some of it is things t has specifically taught me (like breathing exercises) and some of it is just stuff I've picked up from watching t or from talking to her about my issues.

ETA: I have learned to become kind of dependent on T, but in a healthy way. I used to never reach out to anyone, no matter what. I've learned that it's okay to reach out to others and ask for help, and that started with reaching out to T. So, when I'm in crisis, I guess you could say I feel dependent on T, because she's the first person I reach out to. But, it's not like this overwhelming need to constantly contact her or know everything about her or anything.

[critterlady]

Like others, I am learning that it's okay to depend on others when I need help and the way I'm learning that is to reach out to T when I need him. So, in that respect, I'm dependent on him. He does not, however, engender the kind of dependence where I'd need to contact him daily or not be able to cope if I don't see him for a week.

The kind of therapy we're doing isn't focused so much on coping skills as it is on understanding the basis for my fears, insecurities, etc. That, in turn, allows me to put them in perspective.