[precious things]

So since I am still new to my T ( and still trying to decide if this will help me) I've been mulling over the sessions and it occurs to me that there is a very deliberate ( on T's part) pattern to them : starts off with a pleasant exchange, asks my thoughts from previous session, how my week was....we discuss some fact or facet about my life ( I start to share), t tries to get me to ID my feelings, we wrap up with where my behaviors are at and some sort of challenge or thought to ponder for the rest of the week and then we are done.

Do you notice a recurring pattern to the flow of your therapy sessions? Is this predictability helpful to you?

[CantExplain]

I would find such a pattern reassuring. My T lacks structure.

[stopdog]

With the one I see it is a crapshoot every time.

[precious things]

My previous t I completely took the reigns of every session and I floundered miserably. This approach is just so different than what I am used to....not in a bad way. I think I'm just interested in the process of how things work and how different T's operate.

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by stopdog

With the one I see it is a crapshoot every time.

Does that mean structure or unstructured?
I don't get invited to many crapshoots.

[stopdog]

Originally Posted by CantExplain

Does that mean structure or unstructured?
I don't get invited to many crapshoots.

There is no seeming rhyme or reason to each appointment. No consistency. Most of the time I have no idea why she brings up stuff that she does - it does not relate from appointment to appointment and is like she is just throwing stuff out hoping something sticks. When I try to keep a structure that I have made up, she still will bring in something insane. Like if I am talking about having trouble on a case with a judge I have met only once - she will ask something like if I am attracted to the judge. Like no I am not and what the hell does that have to do with anything either? And the appointments themselves are not structured in any predictable way. Except that I usually leave dissociated or in a rage of frustration. I guess that part is predictable.

[unaluna]

You probably described the flow of my session, more or less. Like an aerobics class - quick warm-up and cool-down, and all kindsa crazy movements in the middle. Sometimes an easy day, sometimes a hard day.

Eta: the kids next door used to shoot craps on the front porch at lunchtime. I used to tell them to stay off my lawn...

[TheRealFDeal]

I too like the structure of your therapy. I always hated the endings. It seemed so abrupt and arbitrary. I wish my T had done some kind of a wrap-up for me.

[QuietCat]

Yeah, mine has an agenda each session. Greeting me, review of my depression/anxiety level the past week, quick review of last session and any questions I may have left over, then a topic chosen to spend the current session on. Then he ends with a quick review of the main points discussed and possibly homework.

This strict structure took me some time to get used to. I resented it at first, because I wanted to just vent and complain for 50 minutes, as I had with my previous T.

I've learned this way is more productive though.

[unaluna]

So SD - is she just a bad t? Or a bad t for you? Why do you think you keep seeing her? Do you think you need this good cop / bad cop setup to keep good t good? As usual, optional nosy questions, as Rod SerlIng says Into InfInIty, submItted for your consIderatIon...

[critterlady]

The only structure to my sessions is a final thought from T for me to ponder. The rest of the session goes where it goes. Sometimes I have a specific thing I want to talk about and sometimes I don't. If I don't, he jumpstarts by asking a question or two, either about something we previously talked about or about how things are going.

Whether I start it off or he does, it usually gets us going in one direction, but more often than not, we end up on a tangent of a tangent of a tangent. It's often something I never would have thought to bring up, but it's almost always something that ends up being important.

I like not having a pattern. It gives us the freedom to go where the session needs to go.

[photostotake]

Quick greeting
Looks at my depression scale to see where I'm at
Asks what we should talk about
We talk for 45 minutes
Asks if I'm safe and if I'll return for my next appt

That's as structured as it gets

[wotchermuggle]

No real structure. We go where we go.

[stopdog]

Originally Posted by hankster

So SD - is she just a bad t? Or a bad t for you? Why do you think you keep seeing her? Do you think you need this good cop / bad cop setup to keep good t good? As usual, optional nosy questions, as Rod SerlIng says Into InfInIty, submItted for your consIderatIon...

Because when I quit with her, I get really really sad.

[refika]

My sessions are pretty unstructured. Usually I either go in with something to say or nothing to say. From there, who knows...if I have something to talk about, we talk, if not, T starts with a question and we go from there.

I get a 5 minute warning when it's time to wrap up, which I always find helpful.

[CantExplain]

What about sonata form: exposition, development, recapitulation and coda.

[sunrise]

The structure of my appointments is:
First few minutes: I write a check for T's fee and hand it to him
The big middle section: We talk about stuff
Last few minutes: We get our calendars out and find a time to meet next time

Originally Posted by precious things

starts off with a pleasant exchange, asks my thoughts from previous session

This is interesting to me. T and I almost never talk about past appointments. Each appointment stands on its own topic-wise, although there is hopefully an undercurrent of my progress over time to stand on. Is it common that people do or don't talk about the previous session? I'm curious about what people do in this regard...

[stopdog]

The first one I see - there is no reference to any other appointment. I think she simply does not remember from week to week. I doubt she remembers if I was even there the previous week or not.

The second one - there often is continuity from the last appointment if it appears there was still stuff to be developed or just to pick up from where it left off.

[critterlady]

Originally Posted by sunrise

The structure of my appointments is:
First few minutes: I write a check for T's fee and hand it to him
The big middle section: We talk about stuff
Last few minutes: We get our calendars out and find a time to meet next time

This is interesting to me. T and I almost never talk about past appointments. Each appointment stands on its own topic-wise, although there is hopefully an undercurrent of my progress over time to stand on. Is it common that people do or don't talk about the previous session? I'm curious about what people do in this regard...

We talk about previous sessions if there's something that needs to be discussed about it. If I've had further thoughts on the topic, or we didn't cover it all, we'll pick it up again. Sometimes when I don't have a topic, T will ask me how the last session affected me, especially if it was a tough one.

[Willowleaf]

Originally Posted by CantExplain

What about sonata form: exposition, development, recapitulation and coda.

This is something to aim for and since I seem to dictate rhythm of session I am stuck on binary form on repeat!

It sound comforting to have a structure. Mine leaves it to me and then likes to point out any patterns I fall in to. Generally I am aware but not always

[tinyrabbit]

No structure, no agenda unless I have one. We go where we go. We might talk about the last session if one of us has something to say, but not in any set or habitual way.

He will tell me "we need to finish soon" when the time is nearly up, so it doesn't come to an abrupt end.

[precious things]

Originally Posted by critterlady

We talk about previous sessions if there's something that needs to be discussed about it. If I've had further thoughts on the topic, or we didn't cover it all, we'll pick it up again. Sometimes when I don't have a topic, T will ask me how the last session affected me, especially if it was a tough one.

This .

Although we haven't really covered any tough topics yet so I don't know how or if they would be approached in follow-up sessions.

No real structure. Things just happen as they need to.

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by CantExplain

What about sonata form: exposition, development, recapitulation and coda.

Excellent, CE!

Coda must be the hug part - I can handle that

It's the exposition (by me) and the development (by T) that kill me.

[photostotake]

We bring up the past appt if it's still relevant. And bcause we' re focusing heavily on my ED right now, it sure seems to be. Recently during our appts I've been disclosing some pretty intense stuff and processing what we've talked about between sessions. More often than not, I'm the one who brings up our past sessions, not my T. Especially if I'm trying to figure out how to cope with some of the things we're focusing on.