Justification for meeting 2x in one week.

I have two appointments with T this week. I left my last appointment feeling like I hadn't covered what I wanted to cover and I feel like I'm falling behind in my therapy. I'm feeling anxious. It feels like I'm spinning my wheels (as to no fault of my own) while at the same time not getting the chance to talk about everything I need to talk about. It's like my issues need 1 hour and 15 minutes and the session is only 50 minutes (with my previous T it was 60). My appointments this week are Wednesday 1:30 and Thursday 10am. I'm also going on vacation the following week so I won't see T till two weeks after this Thursday.

Has anyone been in this situation and what did you say to your T for the extra appointment (I made mine via email and told her the lack of time)? I kind of feel somewhat stupid for feeling anxious but at the same time if I don't voice what I need then I feel stupid for that as well.

I made an extra appointment (for only the second time ever) last week, as I just felt 'off' - confused about the 'process' and what we were doing, and I started to build a load of stuff up in my head... Just really negative, disconnected.. I felt like I needed my T to 'fix' it and get me out of that headspace, otherwise I'd have had a really rough weekend. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong and I wasn't exactly in 'crisis' or anything.. Like you I wondered if I could justify the extra appointment, and thought I should have some big specific reason - but my T demanded no such explanation. Just be honest and tell your T what you've wrote here, I'm sure she'll understand. Don't feel stupid, I think it's better to try and do something positive instead of staying quiet and struggling along.

it's ok to ask for and need extra support/help. no justification needed.

I agree with rainbow.. If you need the extra appointment, your T is willing and has the time, then there is no reason not to. You are asking for help, because you feel you need it.. Good for you for reaching out!

Over and over and over again.

I've done it different ways. Sometimes, an extra appointment. Other times (and my personal favorite), a double apt - i.e. 1.5 hr. apt.

You don't need to justify having additional appointments. There are certain junctures in therapy that often just can't be done in 50min/wk. For example.. surfacing of unprocessed trauma, a current life crisis, a big rupture with the therapist, etc.

Get what you need, and there is no need to apologize for needing it.

After I told T about my CSA, he offered twice/week sessions as an option, to help me deal with that, along with a bunch of really big current things. I took him up on it and most weeks since, I've had 2 sessions. It really helps me.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it much longer, as I'm no longer available during one of my appointment times and I don't know what other times he has available.

Thank you everyone for sharing. I'm relieved I'm not the only one that has gone through this.

JustSomeGirl you took the words right out of my head!
My T in the email said that 1:30 on Wednesday would work well for her but she wanted to know what I was thinking so this was my response: I felt like I ran out of time during our last appointment and I need to catch up before the next Thursday appointment. In addition I’m not feeling great and I need to move through it.

I hope I don't make her angry. In my adult mind I say 'why would she be angry?' but my inner child is scared s*^%less. I will be working on my 'agenda' for the appointment and be sure to bring a list so I don't forget everything I want to talk about.

I found myself in this position just this week. We met on Friday and I've been struggling some w/ family stuff and it's a transition time for me, which is always tough. We didn't get to cover everything I'd wanted on Friday and I was going into a weekend w/ nothing planned and then I contacted my mom to see about mother's day plans and that was a frustrating conversation. So, soon after getting home from my Friday midday appt, I asked if I could come in on Saturday morning. We'd had to change the time of my Friday appt and I remember her offering earlier in the week a Saturday at 11am as a possibiity if she couldn't get one of her Friday afternoon people to switch for my earlier Friday time. She emailed back Friday early evening saying that the Saturday morning time was mine if I wanted it. I went in feeling guilty and after our meditation to start I even asked if everything was OK with us (i.e., if she was OK w/ having given me another time). She looked at me and I said before she could that if it hadn't been OK for us to meet that she shouldn't have said yes and that if she did say yes and didn't want to then it was her problem for accepting to meet w/ me and not putting up a better boundary. She smiled and said, yes, this is all true. If you do have concerns about her being angry, please ask her... Good luck!

Meeting twice a week is often a good thing, there has been times she has strongly hinted that she felt I should see her more than once a week. And a few times I have agreed and seen her.

I also feel that at times the appointments are two short, I have felt that sometimes that one, two hour, appointment would be better than two, one hour, appointments.

My T has never questioned my need for an extra appointment. He realizes if I am in need of that extra time, I must have a pretty good reason for it. Sometimes it is he who requests extra sessions, so we've just developed a kind of "feel" for the need to touch base more frequently from time to time. It will be fine. It is very unlikely that your T will even bring it up other than to say something like I can tell something is on your mind, or How are you doing? I noticed this is an extra session for you this week. It will be fine.

Be sure and tell her this, geez. I've experienced what you're talking about, and it was almost magical how when I told her how afraid I was.. she said just the right thing that let me know that I was worth it.. and when that happened over and over and over again, that scared little child began to feel like she was worth it.