[Emptty]

Last night after a heated argument with my T I said "I know what's wrong with me, you think I don't but I know where all my problems come from"

So he said "then tell me why _________" and I told him and his mouth dropped and he said "yes! You know! Yes!"

I stayed late and talked to him and he asked me if he had permission to "push me" in therapy. I said yes and he explained that I could leave or ask him to stop pushing me at any time. It seemed after we talked, like he'd been waiting for me to open up to him about what I recognize and share my own insights(because I guess he didn't want to bring it up and traumatize me if I wasn't ready).

So I'm worried because my T, in a way, can be very intense. He hasn't been that way with me much but I worry I won't be able to handle it. I don't even know what to expect. I don't know what I'll say. I'm scared. I don't know what to expect.

[Miswimmy1]

If at any point you are not comfortable, just say so. I'll be thinking of you!

[Sannah]

Remember, you can tell him to stop. You are in control.

You gave him permission to push, and you can revoke that permission if it becomes too intense. It's good that he waited until you brought up the reason - that's what T's are supposed to do. And it sounds like he'll listen if you tell him to back off.

And for what it's worth, my experience with my T "pushing" me has really been pretty mild. In fact, once he told me he had been pushing at my last session and I hadn't even been aware of it! Pushing doesn't have to be all that intense. It can just mean that they will continue to talk about something even if the patient is getting uncomfortable, rather than backing off at the first sign of discomfort. Or asking difficult questions when the patient is obviously uncomfortable, which is all that my T was doing. So it may not be as bad as you're thinking. Good luck! Sometimes we need a good push to make progress.