[precious things]

Do you call your t by their first names? Do they call you by your first name? I ask because I once had a shrink who did therapy insist I call him dr ( fair enough) but insisted he called me "ms. Things" even though I always asked to be called by my first name precious. he said he addressed all the clients with a formal title ( thankfully, he is no longer treating me. ) My new T ( PhD) calls me precious all the time and refers to himself by using his first name. It already feels much more authentic.

[Ike McCaslin]

PDOC calls me by my first name and I avoid using her name or title alltogether.

[Fixated]

T refers to herself/signs emails with her first name, but there is no way in hell I could ever call her that. She will always remain Dr. T.

She doesn't say my name much, but when she does it is my first name.

I only address him as dr in emails

[nonamecomestomind]

I call t by her first name even though she refers to herself as Dr last name. A few months after starting with her I asked her if that was OK with her, she said fine. But continued to refer to herself as Dr. , when she phones (a rarity, usually just with appt changes) she says "This is Dr T with Name of Counseling Firm" . It bothers me.

[stopdog]

I would not go to a therapist who called themselves Dr. whatever when talking to or calling me. I don't call mds dr. either unless they call me ms. stopdog. I don't know where they got the idea they got to be titled and clients got to be called by their first names.
The one I see is not a dr. of any sort. She is a lcsw.

[feralkittymom]

My T never expressed a preference, and I never thought to ask. I called him Dr T from the first, and he called me Feral. Felt fine.

Of course, now post-therapy, I call him by his first name.

Originally Posted by stopdog

I would not go to a therapist who called themselves Dr. whatever when talking to or calling me. I don't call mds dr. either unless they call me ms. stopdog. I don't know where they got the idea they got to be titled and clients got to be called by their first names.

Technically we have doctorates also. I think if he insisted on "doctor" so would I. Lol.

I've always used her first name and she mine. Except when I teasingly call her "ninja t" cuz she always dressed in black (I assume she still does, but don't know, since we just do phone sessions now.)

[stopdog]

The truth is, I never address the therapist by name at all. There are only two of us in the room. I can usually keep us straight. The therapist does use my name more than I would think necessary. I think it is because otherwise she forgets who I am.

We both have silly nicknames for each other, but we also call each other by first names.

Originally Posted by stopdog

The truth is, I never address the therapist by name at all. There are only two of us in the room. I can usually keep us straight. The therapist does use my name more than I would think necessary. I think it is because otherwise she forgets who I am.

I dunno SD, you seem to be a memorable type to me!

[Victoria'smom]

My Pdoc I call Dr. (first name)
I call T by her name.

[tooski]

I call him Dr. X because that's how he introduced himself to me at the first session. I don't have strong feelings one way or the other. He earned his Ph.D. -if he wants to use it, fine. I have no title, so I'm comfortable with people using my first name. "Ms. X" just seems a little formal to me .......

[Brightheart]

I always called mine by the shortened version of his first name.

[Irrelevant221]

I've never formally addressed her with her name, but when I sign in with the receptionist at the front desk I say that I have an appointment with [insert T's first name here]. Also, when I send my T e-mails, I use her first name in my greeting.

I have wondered in the past whether using her first name is appropriate, but even though I've never actually asked her, I have reason to believe that that is her preference. She always signs her e-mails to me with her first name, and whenever she refers to herself in our sessions, she always uses her first name. She addresses me by my first name all the time. I'm not actually sure if she knows how to pronounce my last name, anyway.

oh yeah my pdoc I just call "doc". original I know. ha!

[healed84]

Early one T made it clear that he was Dr.. I was taken a back by in then, but I am used to it now. He call me by his first name. His office staff all refer to him by his first name when talking to me though..

[retro_chic]

We refer to each other by our first names although to be honest, I have called T by her name in person I only do in emails. My Pdoc calls me by first name and as with T, I don't call her by her name. She introduced herself as first name - last name and not use her Dr title. I don't know why it is so hard to call them by their names... I hope they don't think I'm being rude!

i have never called T by his name. even if i call the office, i just ask for "him". t uses my name i think a lot. i find it comforting.

[CantExplain]

I don't often address her, but when I do, I use her first name. She uses my first name, especially if I am sulking.

[scorpiosis37]

We call each other by our first names. It wouldn't work any other way since, between me and T, I'm the only one who is a Dr! Hmmm... maybe I should start asking her to call me "Dr." while I call her "first name" ;-)

I called my ex-T by his first name, but I felt much more of a connection there...it took some time getting to using his first name. My T now seems like...my dr. Not a "first name" person...sooo guess that kinda says alot. Sigh.

T is Dr. and I'm first name. Though I only actually address him in writing, sometimes, and he almost never uses my name.

[Nightlight]

My T is not a Dr and I can't imagine gaining what I need out of this sort of relationship if that sort of power differential is created. I very seldom use my T's name anyway, I guess I don't use people's names that often. T has a name that is easily shortened though and someone else who knows her referred to her by the shortened version. So I guess that makes it feel more formal and less familiar.