Is any couch better than none? Welcome to Couch 41

Thanks, RTS....I appreciate the insight. I have been slacking on applying for jobs, although I do have an interview coming up for a part time interpreting job. I don't have high hopes for it because they are going to be evaluating my signing and voicing skills - and I freak under pressure. You would think I'd be totally comfortable with being evaluated for signing which is something I have been fluent with my entire life.

I am going to get back on track.

I'm doing the same.. Cleaned the living room, vaccumed, done a couple of loads of laundry and made some cookies..

MUE... I know you will get back on track...

can you muster up some of your stand up comedy bravery for your interview?

((((RTS)))). That made me well up...the don't save...I really dont want to save.
I hope your day gets better.

SD...I was so freaked out by the t being aroused in session I missed the rage part. Just serves to prove that they are kind of playing god at times. So scary when you think of how many put their ALL in t.

It is an interesting article. I want to show it to T because she insists she doesn't have any "negative" feelings towards her clients except frustration. I knew that was BS the first time she said it. I tried to talk about my own feelings regarding clients (at times their actions bring up anger, disappointment, disgust, sadness, etc.); that didn't work with her either.

I just don't think these are appropriate questions. What's the therapeutic purpose? I'm glad you are more comfortable with your current T.

Again, what therapeutic purpose does this serve?

You are so not failing. You're doing the best you can with what you have.

Off to do laundry, vacuuming/mopping, budgeting, and paying bills. Have a nice Sunday afternoon.

I'd imagine there could be some therapeutic reason for asking those things, but without asking the T directly, there's really no way to know.

I remember talking to my T more freely (back when I was emotionally detached ) about my life experiences...and he asked certain questions. They ended up being important questions, because it led me to explore what I was feeling, what led me to the choices I made, etc. It had value.

I know that T asked me last session if I found sex with my h pleasurable, but the question made sense in the context of our conversation. I guess it all depends on what kind of convos you are having with your t at the time.

Anyways.... Off to go grocery shopping. Don't want to get dressed!!!!

Not during the service, I hope!

It's to get you to explore your feelings, and to prize you out of denial.

"Go back to the traumatic event. Sense it, feel it, know that it is real. And break the spell."

Thanks. This helps me understand. I was not sexually abused as a child, so I cannot understand that horror. I was emotionally and verbally abused and that was bad enough. To be physically and/or sexually abused must bring pain beyond all measure. To those of you who experienced that, I am sorry. You are stronger than you know to have survived such an abomination.

I find myself saying, "What's the point?" at times, and when I explore my reaction, it tends to tell me that there's a defense mechanism involved.

On an entirely different note, I went home to take care of the pets...and it's been 3 hours, and I still haven't gotten back to my mom's house. I told her about an hour ago that I needed to get a shower and would be back soon. Still haven't gotten the shower yet. Can you tell I just don't want to go back?

The good thing is I am heading to my niece's soccer game later this afternoon, so that should be fun. Then, will go to my sister's house for a little while to help her with some tax stuff and do the chubby bunny challenge with the kids. I'm a bit scared of it after reading that a couple people died while doing it. So, I'm going to put some limits in place....although I'm not sure at the moment what those limits are.

Last couch closed on page 106(I missed it by one). I tell you, they're on to us. SD was the last poster.

If an oyster went to therapy, the therapist would try to destroy the pearl in order to get back to the original grit.

I wonder if Ts are just asking these questIons to let us know Its okay If we want to talk about it? They don't realize we are perceiving it as pressure? If they haven't been pushed and abused and trained to react to a quiver of an eyelash, they don't realize we're trying to make sense of it. Maybe a normal person would come out and say, "no! Shut up! Why are you talking about such yucky stuff? Is there something wrong with you? W.t.f. man!" I think I'm gonna say THAT next time. I'm prepared now.

Do I get any points for being quoted in it? I think I was instrumental... it was the 5-syllable words that did it!!

My T has definitely waited (years in some areas) for ME to tell him what he has already guessed. One thing I brought up in an email, and then asked him to call me to reassure me that he didn't think I was disgusting now that he knew. On the phone, he was like 'I already knew and this changes nothing. I was waiting though for you to bring it up." He says that when someone initially says they were sexually abused, he has a good guess about a number of other things that are going to come up, but has learned that, unless a client specifically asks him about certain topics, it's better to wait and let them bring it up. Even after the topic has been broached, he still waits to let the client guide the course and speed of therapy.

My T has done that a couple of times too, MKAC. I had disclosed something (usually a feeling surrounding an event that I've been lying to myself about) and she just smiled. When I asked her why she was smiling, she said that she was waiting for me to figure out how I felt even though she already knew. Guess that's why I've been there 2 years now...I'm a bit slow sometimes...lol.

Thinks: If I can't make a T relationship work today, it's not surprising I didn't get on with my mother forty years ago.

I'm not really the one to see about points. However, in this instance, I will award you 7 octozillion Ickie points.

Crush or dissolve? (see 5 through 7): How to Tell If Pearls Are Real | eHow.com

Yeah and I think ickie points are like the Italian lira used to be - not worth much!!

Perna, you're a cruel, cruel woman!!

All those Ickie points and 6 bucks will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

omg, my T always has a can of Coke on her table.......... I need to check out her shoes...

Hankster, are you a Willy Wonka fan?