[healed84]

So, this has started to be touched on in the e-mail post by a couple of people. Just wondering.. when you talk with your T.. Do you use first names? Proper titles, like Dr, mrs, mr?? Etc???

I shared in the e-mail thread that when I have to address him by name (usually calling his office to talk with his receptionist, I call him Dr. lastname. I am not sure I have really used his name in actual sessions though.

I saw a T briefly before my current T and he made it very clear that I could call him by his first name.. would refer to himself by his first name. They both of the same degree (psy.d). As a matter of fact, I was referring to old T one day and called him by his first name, and and my T made sure to correct me to call him Dr. so and so. I was thrown off by that.. They know each other, went to graduate school together and work in the same practice.

[Butterflies Are Free]

I call my T by her first name.

[SoupDragon]

I don't - he isn't real anyway, just some blurr against the wall . I know he has a name, but it just feels too freaky to say it.

[shoez]

I dont have any real situations when I have to call my T anything...mainly because i feel wierd just calling her *firstname* as if she were my pal or something...since Im like really young and shes like old enough to be my mom.

but...shes addressed herself to me when shes trying to *bring me back*mentally* by saying "Its __hername__, your in my office...its *whatever day it is*"
I think shed want me to call her by her first name ..if i ever did call her.

[stopdog]

I do not call her anything when talking to her (I have used man, dude, and pal as in "look pal...." or "dude, you can't be serious" but that was really more to fill in the space. She call me by my first name a lot. I often think - I know who you are talking to - I am the only other person here - why the need for my name? If I ever found a need to do so, I would call her by her first name.

[pbutton]

I call him by his first name.

[Nelliecat]

I have occasionally (maybe twice) called her by first name when I've rung her - I can be professional on the phone, but never in her room. No way. NO way, too weird. Too weird and scary.

[pbutton]

Originally Posted by stopdog

I do not call her anything when talking to her (I have used man, dude, and pal as in "look pal...." or "dude, you can't be serious" but that was really more to fill in the space. She call me by my first name a lot. I often think - I know who you are talking to - I am the only other person here - why the need for my name? If I ever found a need to do so, I would call her by her first name.

That is interesting to me. Mine never uses my name.

A few sessions ago T was walking through the waiting room and was stopped by a patient. T kept moving things forward to let me in the hallway to his office, but I didn't move. The other patient was still talking to him. I continued to sit in the waiting room chair. I was waiting for the other guy to finish whatever it was that he wanted to tell T. I am not one to be bothered by T having other patients. To be totally honest part of me was hoping that the other guy would talk for an entire hour, then I wouldn't have to go in.

T must have been in "Your appointment time, you are the important one" mode because he called out my name which forced me to get up and walk over. I was not pleased. T let me in the hallway and the other patient kept talking so I just awkwardly stood there, not knowing WTH to do. I didn't want to go in T's office alone but I wasn't really digging standing in the freaking hallway either. I would have been much happier back in the chair. Back to the point of this story, I do remember thinking it was weird to hear T say my name.

[carla.cdt]

Therapist first name, psychiatrist Dr. lastname

[~Christina]

Therapist " first name "
Pdoc " Dr lastname"

[GoodPoint]

I have a weird fear of saying people's names as I'm speaking to them, so I avoid it at all costs. And when it's a one-on-one thing, there is really little "need" to say the other person's name, although I can see why people might like it. I don't think I've ever actually said her name while talking to her. Maybe the first (and only?) time I ever called her on the phone, but we now communicate solely by email outside of sessions, in which I DO address her as "Hi (first name)," and even that feels kind of weird to me.

heh, I always wonder if people pick up on my weird fear of saying names thing.

[franki_j]

Ohhh my goodness, I always wonder about this. I call her Dr. lastname, but I feel that she would like me to call her by her first name. Part of me wants to, but the other part feels like she is not my friend and that seems so informal. One time I hear one of her clients refer to her by her first name as she was leaving the office, and it sounded so weird to hear her first name come out of someone's mouth. So I guess she is OK with clients calling her by her first name, but I don't. (Although a part of me wants to.)

Haha, funny, I'm the same as a lot of you - first name, but I barely ever use it in person - it's not normally necessary is it? (And it's scary but WHY?!) She, however, first-names me all the time (I think that's some kind of T thing they do? When I worked in a call centre we were told we had to learn and use customers names to make them feel important! ) Last month I finally did use her first name, to her face! We'd just had an extra session because I seemed to be having some sort of meltdown, and she'd really calmed me down and made me feel better, so during our goodbyes at the door I said "Thanks [T]" I rly meant it, too

[stopdog]

I don't use names a lot in general either. I call most of my friends by nicknames when I need to address them specifically.

[likelife]

Originally Posted by just_some_girl

Haha, funny, I'm the same as a lot of you - first name, but I barely ever use it in person - it's not normally necessary is it? (And it's scary but WHY?!) She, however, first-names me all the time (I think that's some kind of T thing they do? When I worked in a call centre we were told we had to learn and use customers names to make them feel important! ) Last month I finally did use her first name, to her face! We'd just had an extra session because I seemed to be having some sort of meltdown, and she'd really calmed me down and made me feel better, so during our goodbyes at the door I said "Thanks [T]" I rly meant it, too

Ooh, I hate it when people at call centers use my name! Also, when cashiers look at my credit card and then use my name. I'm all, "You don't know me!"

I don't think I ever call my T anything when we're face to face. In emails and voicemails (really rarely), I use her first name. I kind of like it when she uses my name to call my attention back, though.

My x T. was a PsyD...but he made it very clear in the first session.. he refers to the people he works with as "clients" not "patients". In the same way...he does not expect nor want to be called "Dr." I called him by his first name... he signed off in texts and emails with his first name... The only time he ever used that was when he left a voice mail message back to me after I first contacted the office and said this is DR fist name second name... last time I ever heard him refered to himself as Dr. I don't think I could work with a person I had to call Dr. so and so... first it would really trigger my authority issues and second it would make me feel like I was "sick"

I generally call her by her first name, but come to think of it I rarely say her name...I kinda just talk to her. When I speak, I just say hi & it's the same when I say bye...whether in person, phone call, or txt. Never thought how much I avoid saying her name or addressing her in such way...not sure why I do that. Hmmm...

[googley]

My current T and pdoc I call by their last names. However, my last set of T and pdoc I would call by their first names. It really seems to depend on how they introduce themselves. Though I do avoid using names when possible.

[Screenager]

I don't think I've ever actually addressed her. In my e-mails or when I call her, I just go "Hello, [this is...]...". It hasn't come up when talking to her in session either.
She used to address me as "Ms. ..." in e-mails and sometimes in session for emphasis; now she uses my first name.

When I talk about her to others I say "my therapist" or "Dr. [X]".

I'm not sure how I would address her if I had to. I'm kind of reluctant about calling her "Dr." I'd probably just go "Ms. [X]" and hope she wouldn't see it as disrespectful.

When I call in to make appointments, I used Dr. Last Name, but otherwise we are on a first name basis.

My Pdoc is always Dr. Last name.

[Towanda]

I calll my T by his first name, always have, but I know his other clients call him Dr last name. Guess it started that way right from the beginning because Im a nurse and used to calling docs by their first name. However, pdoc made it very clear from the outset that he was DR last name. But then he's always had a pole up his butt so this doesn't surprise me.

With email and phone, however, I'm always aware that someone else could access it in case of a legal issue, so there he is Dr last name. I know it sounds stuffy but being a female with a male T...can't be too careful.

[Bella01]

I use Dr because that's the way he addresses his self when he leaves a phone message.

[splitimage]

With T it's first name - I started seing her before she got her PhD.

With addictions Dr. and pdoc, it's Dr. Last name - no way would i be comfortable calling either of them by their first name.

With DBT therapists, they're both first name, but they both just have master's in counselling.

splitimage

[harvest moon]

I just talk to him in plural, no names etc! Would feel really awkward to call him Mr. ...!

[healed84]

Its interesting to hear how most of us don't really use our Ts name in session. It made me think, that I am not sure I have heard T say my name in a session either. He has, when I have called him, but other than that he hasn't. I think there is something caring and personal when using the first name in conversation.. and it made me realize that I would like to hear it.