[Miswimmy1]

I hav posted before about the ability to give t gifts, and it dawned on me that what about the other way around? does ur t give you gifts?

[Wren_]

not a gift

an old t sent me sent me a Christmas card she painted though

[BonnieJean]

No. At least not material ones...

I once got a book written by an x-T. Don´t know. I guess that wasn´t a really personal thing and it was okey. I don´t know if I could accept anything really personal though.

[Nightlight]

A card on my birthday a couple of times.

[0w6c379]

Originally Posted by Miswimmy1

I hav posted before about the ability to give t gifts, and it dawned on me that what about the other way around? does ur t give you gifts?

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No. To quote Bonniejean "not material ones". I feel like I should be the one giving him a little something at the holidays for putting up with my
idiosynchrasies all year long.

[granite1]

not from this T but in the past yes i have gotten a lot of gifts from T's. like cards, journals, stuffed animals, t shirts from ware they go on vacation. but i have a differnt relationship with this T.

[wotchermuggle]

No. I think that would be really weird and definitely a boundary crossing, in my case.

[Screenager]

My t gave all her clients chocolates for Christmas last year, so I gave her some in return when I next saw her.

[stopdog]

No, thank goodness. I would not like a therapist to do so.

The first year I saw T-she gave me a card with a magnet inside that had encouraging words on it. I didn't give her anything in return that year because I was not sure if it was allowed. Plus, she gave it to me on Christmas Eve (my appt was xmas eve day) I was not expecting it. However that was over 2 years ago. I have not received anything since. Not even a card. But I don't expect it.

[autotelica]

Yes, but never because it's a special occasion. No birthday or Christmas gifts. Just random tokens of kindness.

[lifelesstraveled]

T has never given me a gift per say. I had mentioned that it'd be nice if she had a pillow or 2 on her couch, and a few weeks later a pillow popped up in the office. She said she was at home goods and thought about me and that pillow comment, so she picked one up.

[sunrise]

A couple of times my T has given me the gift of a poem on my birthday. He chose a poem that reminded him of me and read it aloud to me. Both times were quite emotional moments. This means more to me than a material gift. I don't consider it a boundary crossing.

[sconnie892]

T has not given me any material gifts. I think I would find it awkward and would not know if it was okay to reciprocate.

[~EnlightenMe~]

No, neither of us gave gifts. I was always afraid he wouldn't accept it. I asked one time, and he said that he did, but just things like cookies and stuff. Since I'm horrible at cooking, needless to say, he didn't get anything.

He once gave me a chess piece, a knight, I think to help me hold on to him while he was away at vacation. Unfortunately, I kept it in my purse and it crumbled (?) in my purse. I should have seen it as a harbinger I guess I asked my Pdoc if she thought I would ever be able to talk to him again, if just once, and she said that that wasn't how we left it. I hated that she put the word 'we' in it, because I didn't decide that I couldn't see him again. Sorry for diverging off of topic.

[Luce]

My long term t gave me little gifts on occasion, usually some little token gift she brought back from her travels abroad. When I left therapy she gave me a couple of bought gifts that related to our journey together.

My psychiatrist would never give me a gift. I don't expect that from her.

[Butterflies Are Free]

I have received cards, a book, and once, for my birthday, we celebrated with hot tea and cookies. I don't think of these things as gifts really but I guess I could say that my T has given me the greatest gift of all: her time, compassion, and support.

Miswimmy1, I never had a therapist give me a gift before. Therefore, I am going to tell her about this thread, and insist she give me a gift, maybe a lot of gifts. And no, I don't want my Cadillac Escalade in Pink! You might be to young for that one.

I will ask her though, if she gives gifts. I don't really want one, because every minute of the day I have a gift from her - my life.

[Sunne]

Not gifts per say... ?

He has burned me educational CD's. Recorded personalized mindfulness and guided imagery for grounding with his voice. He lends me books and gadgets for brain stuff.

I don't think I would want him to give me an actual gift. Everything he does to help my healing is gift enough. I'd feel funny opening a present from him.

Originally Posted by Goingtogetthere

Miswimmy1, I never had a therapist give me a gift before. Therefore, I am going to tell her about this thread, and insist she give me a gift, maybe a lot of gifts. And no, I don't want my Cadillac Escalade in Pink! You might be to young for that one.

I will ask her though, if she gives gifts. I don't really want one, because every minute of the day I have a gift from her - my life.

I just got a response from my therapist.

Do Ya?

Therapist response: Sorry no Cadillacs, or anything close. Sometimes though I let my clients take away things that were meaningful for them - like pieces of fabric, heh, heh.

My t is very generous to her clients. She has given me several stuffies out of her office, a doll that her mother made (i sleep with it), a hand made blanket, some little nick nacks she made, she gave us a birthday party and bought all the iside kids cute little presents like balloons,crayons, and goodies and light up swords and stuff, this year when we went to visit her we went to a market and she picked out some sparkly pretty things for us like a necklace and thngs to hang in the window that shine, and a bunch of candy and stuff. Other things like that over the years.
Oh and her puppy, who we are babysitting while she is gone, thats been the best gift of all because he is our best friend and makes us laugh, and follows us all over the house.

[bamapsych]

My T gave me a Valentine card this year. It was like my second or third session with her. It was one of those like kids pass around at school. It said "friends forever" and had pigs on it. We are both females so this was not inappropriate in my opinion. We are both single and I guess she assumed that I'd feel depressed on Valentine's Day.

[peaches100]

Very early on in my therapy, my t gave me a stuffed bunny to help me "hold on" to her presence (object constancy). She also brought me a bag of shells once after she had gone on vacation to the beach. Once, she alsolet me take a colored rock from her office to remember her with. However, it has been several years since she gave me anything tangible.