[Fixated]

A lot of times I am shocked and touched by the small stuff T remembers...even things I don't remember telling her. Maybe they have some trick to do it, idk.

Yesterday I was complaining about my cough/cold and T remembered I prefer Riccola throat lozenges.

What about you and your T?

[Perna]

I saw my T for 9 years and then did not see her for 9 years before seeing her again. The second set of years when I saw her was full of our remembering "back before" and discussing situations from both sides; what I thought/felt and her amazement that it was like that for me (I was pretty closed down the first 9 years, did not really profit from therapy, other than it helping me keep my head above water, until the second set) and she'd tell me things she had noticed and I would be pleasantly surprised.

[stopdog]

I am always surprised when the woman remembers my name. She is terrible at remembering anything, even the bigger things that happened the week before in her office. And sometimes she remembers only odd parts of things.
Just last week she asked if I had brought her a type of food thing I make, and I said I had not because she had said she did not like it (not mine specifically which she had never tried- just in general) and then she agreed she did indeed not like it. It was baffling.

[lonelyBchoice]

Originally Posted by stopdog

I am always surprised when the woman remembers my name. She is terrible at remembering anything, even the bigger things that happened the week before in her office. And sometimes she remembers only odd parts of things.
Just last week she asked if I had brought her a type of food thing I make, and I said I had not because she had said she did not like it (not mine specifically which she had never tried- just in general) and then she agreed she did indeed not like it. It was baffling.

Just a tiny high jack... why the need to call your T " the woman". Just wondered for so long I have to ask. Sorry..

[stopdog]

Originally Posted by lonelyBchoice

Just a tiny high jack... why the need to call your T " the woman". Just wondered for so long I have to ask. Sorry..

I don't think of her as "my" anything. Sometimes I refer to her as the therapist or that therapist. I usually think of her as the or that woman so it is what I write.

Sometimes I think therapists remember things because they write them down in notes. Some, I would imagine are simply better at remembering trivia than others. I remember odd things from time to time about my students or clients. I remember, for example, and for no good reason, what one student called her grandparents when she introduced them to me over 6 years ago at an award ceremony.

My T cannot seem to remember my age to save his life, or my a couple of my good friends' name. But, he remembered my new dog's name when I had only said it once, months before.

[franki_j]

That my birthday is this week. I walked in and she said "Happy birthday," and I was so surprised!

[Perna]

I always assumed T remembered stuff until she didn't I remember how surprised we both were when she called my husband "Steve" and we both asked simultaneous, "Who's Steve?" She didn't know where she came up with that name, just assumed it must have been another client's husband's name. I'd seen her for 8-9 years the second time around and she lost a check then found it and ended up having to write me a check (the whole bank cancelling the check and she wanting to pay the fee since she had lost it) and made it out to my maiden name she'd known me as 20+ years previously.

[avlady]

my therapist does home visits and bring's me coffee, I love that, and has saveb my life several times just by being there for me. i can tell her anything and it usually turns out into to a joke.

[elliemay]

It's not what, but when.

One therapist went to Europe and brought me back something related to my therapy. Another went to Asia and did the identical thing.

It's astounding really.

[velcro003]

my T busts out stuff all the time. i was telling her about how my parents never asked how i felt about anything, even big things like going to the hospital. in my head i was thinking about the time i was 12 and smashed my hand through glass, which we've talked about a # of times over the years. she responds with "oh when you were 3?" I think i told her once about the time i cut open my head when i was 3. a long time ago.

[ECHOES]

Originally Posted by Fixated

A lot of times I am shocked and touched by the small stuff T remembers...even things I don't remember telling her. Maybe they have some trick to do it, idk.

Yesterday I was complaining about my cough/cold and T remembered I prefer Riccola throat lozenges.

What about you and your T?

I know what you mean - I am floored sometimes when my T brings up something that I wouldn't have remembered myself. Sometimes it's really helpful when I'm not remembering correctly how I felt about something; I will have completely forgotten what I said about it at the time. She did this recently when we were talking about someone who may re-enter my life.

There are many details that she remembers that I would think a friend would not remember.

I have no idea how she does it! But I do get tickled when she surprises me by remembering something.

[QuietCat]

My T has never done this, and as I think about it, I think it's because I just don't give him a lot of small details to keep in memory. He'll ask me things like, "What's your favorite music artist" and I just won't give him any real response because I don't want him to judge me for whoever I might say.

He has forgotten a few times that I don't have any family near me and my mom lives out of state. I suspect he mixes this information up with some other patient like me that he's currently seeing.

[skysblue]

I guess this isn't the most surprising OR random but when she comments about what a mess I was (my words, not hers) when I first started with her 2 years ago, I am pleasantly surprised that she remembers.

[WikidPissah]

I am surprised that she remembers what we spoke about the week before. My other t's did not remember that. I am sure she takes/reads notes, it's refreshing.

[Windflower.]

My T remembers our first session and will mostly talk about it.

[unaluna]

I was amazed this week when I told T I had a rather impromptu lunch with a gf and he said, "you haven't seen her since summer." I said wow I'm glad someone is keeping track of my social life cuz I'm not! It's true I haven't been out since my stroke at the end of September. Actually we did talk recently that I was going to ask this gf for a ride to my Dr's but instead I changed to a local Dr and took the bus. Still, T shocked me. It is not something my family ever would have known or commented on.

[feralkittymom]

I brought my T a surprise box lunch I'd made once early in therapy. Everything--even the bread of the sandwich--was home made. It was sort of a celebration of feeling the depression lifting enough that I was interested in cooking again.

Many years later we were talking about something quite unrelated, and he remembered that lunch and each of the foods.

[sconnie892]

What frightens me the most is when t will say "Well, what about _____?" And I cannot recall ever telling her about that topic. I try not to let on to the fact I don't remember saying anything in session. I have a tendency to ramble sometimes and I am certain it came spewing out at some point.

[doyoutrustme]

I find that my T remembers a lot of random things, even to the point where he says, 'yes, you told me that <insert what I was about to say here>

and then there are more major things that he "forgets" and makes me repeat over and over.. Methinks its a technique of some sort.

[anilam]

Originally Posted by stopdog

I am always surprised when the woman remembers my name. She is terrible at remembering anything, even the bigger things that happened the week before in her office. And sometimes she remembers only odd parts of things.
Just last week she asked if I had brought her a type of food thing I make, and I said I had not because she had said she did not like it (not mine specifically which she had never tried- just in general) and then she agreed she did indeed not like it. It was baffling.

I think Ts in general need good memory- I would not go to a T that would not remembered what had happened in that room. Waste of time for me.

Luckily for me, my T has a great memory- yet he doesn't take notes in sessions so I do wonder how he does it. When asked he told me that his memory's not that good. Well, maybe it depends on a point of view (cause my memory sucks...:/

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by stopdog

I am always surprised when the woman remembers my name. She is terrible at remembering anything, even the bigger things that happened the week before in her office. And sometimes she remembers only odd parts of things.
Just last week she asked if I had brought her a type of food thing I make, and I said I had not because she had said she did not like it (not mine specifically which she had never tried- just in general) and then she agreed she did indeed not like it. It was baffling.

Poor T! She reaches out to you so hard!

[CantExplain]

Sometimes I wish she didn't remember my sexual history in quite such detail!

[stopdog]

Originally Posted by CantExplain

Poor T! She reaches out to you so hard!

I have no idea how her remembering nothing correctly is her reaching out to me so hard. Plus, I would think not bringing her something she said she did not like would be a good thing.
She can take of herself, I would not waste energy feeling sorry for her.

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by stopdog

I have no idea how her remembering nothing correctly is her reaching out to me so hard. Plus, I would think not bringing her something she said she did not like would be a good thing.
She can take of herself, I would not waste energy feeling sorry for her.

She has her faults, no doubt. But I can feel her effort.

Can't you?