[Dezdemona]

Has anyone ever wondered about your T's/Pdocs other clients? I've never met/seen any client of any of mine. (Over the past three years, I've had 3) But I sometimes wonder what they're like. Who are they? Do they have worse problems than I do, or if they're doing better than I am. They're definately a mystery, because you know they DO have other clients, but its very rare to have any contact with them whatsoever.

I think a lot of it has to do with confidentiality. Many people dont want others to know they're in therapy. My T works from her home, and she allows half an our between sessions, so that we (her clients) don't run in to each other. A very good idea.

Since I do not recieve my therapy from private therapists all 19 of my therapists since 1980 has been with a therapy agency. therapy agencies where ever I have gone in 15 different USA states have never allowed a half hour between clients. I can just see some of the agencies around here doing that. Just scheduling 5 minutes between clients to spare and quite a few of the agencies here have 3 year - 6 year waiting lists.

So here Its impossible not to see the client before me coming out of their session and the one after me waiting for their session..

The only way I would not have this kind of thing happen is if I am late getting to my appointment and we end my appointment early by 15 - 20 minutes and in some cases a half hour early.

Most clients that I have met make a point of being at the therapy office at the least 15 minutes early in case files or insurance needs updating and so on. Being DID I make a habit of being at LL's office building at the least 15 minutes early that way if something should come up (bus not running on time, bike with a flat that needs fixing or I forget something and need to go back and pick the forgotten item up and so on, I have plenty of time to get to my appointment. By my making a point to get to my appointments with time to spare my therapists can also trust that I am not going to just not show up to my sessions. They can trust that I do consider mine and their time important and that I do want to fix things. My therapists know that they can depend on me and trust that I am going to be there. Being there early also allows the receptions time to let me know if my therapist is running behind or sick or had an emergency they were needed for.

I also sometimes know one or more of my therapists other clients for a couple reasons one being I highly recommend this therapy agency when a survivor asks me about therapy options, I also run a support group for women survivors of sexual abuse and from time to time someone calls me and when we get talking we realize we share the same therapist or therapy agency,, I also attended three parenting classes, three depression management classes and one anger management class and in doing so have from time to time met a client or two (or more depending on the class) from the same therapy agency and or client of my therapists, I have also met a cleint or two or more of my therapists by my asking my therapists to ask their other clients who are going through what I am at that moment if they would like to meet me, and on more than one occasion with more than one therapist the answer was yes some other clients wanted to meet me in fact they were also feeling alone and wanted to meet others like theirself.

The end result fell in the line of a quote a psychology instructor had made a banner out of for the class -

"No matter who you are there is always going to be someone better than you and there will always be someone borse then you."

Some were farther ahead on their healing and therapy work and others were behind where I was and still others were right on doing the same things that I was working on.

So for me LL's other clients are not a mystery for me - They are just human beings who like me are having some sort of problems in their life that they need help in understanding so that they can fix their problems.

No matter where I get my therapy help Im actually more curious about the other therapists that work in the agency than I am the other clients. Another client and I could be sitting there and they say hi to me I say hi back and introducce myself and ask them who is the therapist with the funky pants, or hair don't and so on. and we end up comparing therapists ideas of professional clothing, and therapy styles or wanting to be around when this tupee got blew off with the wind and so on.

[Dezdemona]

When I was doing my therapy in college, the office was in the same room as the Employment Resource Center. This was actually a smart set up, because you could never know if someone waiting was a client of the Counselling Office, or Employment. Here, the therapists only had, I think, five minutes between sessions, so I'm sure I must have seen a fellow client or two in the year and a half that I went there.

[(JD)]

My psychologist uses the standard of 50 minute hours with 10 minutes between patients... to allow for run overs, notes, phone calls etc. I know the patients on the other sides of my appointments.. in that we know each other's names, basics about the situations we are in etc. I think my T schedules like-issue patients on the same days, when possible? It's quite alright to see others who are dealing with the psychological issues of disability, for me anyway.

Yes, imo, they are all like you mainly... human beings seeking advice on how to make living happier.

I would not even be able to begin trying to figure out if there is a system other then LL sees her clients ev ery two weeks unless there is a problem or they are the type of client that can go longer between sessions.

Some days my appointment comes after or before staff meetings, sometimes before or after she has a teen client that is having trouble with home life,

Basically besides working with the clients of this agency that are Dissociatives and DID's LL is also a substance abuse therapist, depression management, anger management, teens, couples, family therapy. you name it. I also know well I did two year ago that is that the number of dissociatives -DID's she had on her caseload was 5 counting me with a total caseload of anywhere between 70-80 clients.

this therapy agency where I see LL most definately does not schedule like clients on the same day.

[jbug]

I see my T twice a week and usually over his lunch hour. On Tuesdays I usually run into the client he just saw so I see them but don't know anything about them. On Thursdays I don't because he's just coming out of group when I see him. For a little bit of time I was actually jealous of his other clients because they got his time when I didn't. There was a short time that we had scheduling conflicts and I didn't get to see him. Every once in awhile he will tell me about his other clients like so and so had the same problem and they dealt with it this way maybe it will work for you. He also told me that one of his clients saw the painting in office like this did I see it that way?

Jbug

[jennie]

I quit seeing a counselor because I know his other patients' needs were greater than mine. I've seen wounded soldiers come/go in/out of his office. I'm sure my current counselor has the same patients . . . I try not to bother her too much. Overall, I'm doing very well.

I think it's good to meet with other patients in a group setting. Scary, though!

[Eleora]

I have met a couple, sometimes they come in late or whatever. I usually see quite a few too since my times are always changing day and time-wise.

My thoughts have always been "I wonder if they're better/worse then me" too. I always worry I am the 'craziest' person my pdoc sees.

hmm. i don't think about it too much. i don't really wonder about it too much either... in fact... i don't really want to know. but then... i don't want to know ANYTHING about my t outside therapy. i'd be happiest lying down not having to look at them... i think i would like to try analysis one day... not traditional analysis a bit more direction please but i think i'd like not knowing about them and stuff. i worry what they think of me a lot and stuff like that. would rather not. and would rather... they didn't say much... just let me work through stuff but said the odd thing to snap me out of unhelpful head cycles...

in general... i don't want to know. no interest whatsoever. not sure why... maybe because... i don't know... i'm not really sure why...

The T. I see often runs past the time with the client before me... so there is only about 1 minute in between (the sessions are usually 50 mintues with 10 mintues in-between each client) so I see the person leave as I'm waiting to go in... but it's almost always a different person every time...

My T. seems very much like janniebug's, in that he'll refer to what another client is going through or feels about some subject (but he never says their name).

I really don't like when my T. does this.... talks about other clients........ I have relationship problems and too much goes through my mind that I feel hinders the therapy process then. My mind starts to question if he wants me to be more like that client, or, it leaves me nervously wondering if he talks about me to others too!! I wish he wouldn't talk about anyone but me--- does that seem selfish?? I realize that I'm going to sound dramatic here--- but--- it's as if I've received a jolt to my body when he talks about someone else......I've tried so hard not to react this way--- but so far--- I've been unable to avoid it.

Dezdemona-- I think you are very lucky to not have heard anything about other clients and have not seen any either---- I wish my experience was that way.

I don't know..... I'm still finding this whole therapy thing so very difficult---- wonder if I have attachment issues or what?--- what is going on inside me????? argh!!

I wish you well with your therapy. Does your therapist have any openings?!!

[(JD)]

(((mandy)))) imo you need to share this with the T. There is a fine line between sharing and not and when it's appropriate and when it isn't. If it isn't helping you, then it isn't But it's an easy fix: tell the T!

thank you Sky--- I just PM'd you so I don't veer from the original post.

[(JD)]

Hey dez? Remember, to them WE are the "other" clients.

[Hopefull]

My first T had an empty waiting almost everytime I came. He must have scheduled the appointments pretty far apart (University counseling center). My current T is in an outpatient facility at the local hospital. So, she has lots of other Ts and Pdocs working with her. So, the waiting room usually has three to four people waiting there. I don't tend to speak to them because I am never sure how comfortable they are with talking to someone while waiting for a rather private activity. So, I usually just people watch some while waiting. I have seen one client of my T. I came in and saw my T talking to another lady. She was thanking her for coming and I walked past them into the waiting room. My T ended up following me and identified herself. I said something to the effect that I had already seen her. But, I did not explain why I had ignored her because she was speaking to this other woman and she disserved her privacy. So, I was trying to honor that and ignored my T in the hallway. I thought it was rather strange because I had never caught my T talking to another client before. I suppose it will happen again sooner or later.
As for talking about other clients, my T only mentions that some people come into the office for help on similar issues. I think it is her way of reminding me that I'm not alone in my issues. My first T with this agency told me a bit more about a former client which annoyed me because my focus was atrocious at that time (I didn't get to see her for a whole month!) and I shifted some into student mode. Since I am studying addiction counseling, I don't like to hear to much about other clients because I will tend to relate to it as if I am in class rather than as a client. I don't get the point of the case reference. I find it easier to stay in the client role with any kind of case references. My current T doesn't tell me enough to make me shift into student mode which is good.