[Safari_]

Hey all new to the boards, So i'm starting to wonder if I need to get a new T? and could do with some advice/guidance please?

Current Situation
- Been seeing a new T every few weeks for a few months for depression, anxiety and sui related stuff.
- I feel we do have a good r/ship when working together.

Issues
- Booking appointments: When I go to book another appointment there is always a 2 or 3 week wait to be seen again, as my appointment slot always seems to get replaced which is a little frustrating at times..

- 2 weeks ago I requested an appointment as I was hitting a bit of a crisis he told me he wouldn't be able to see me until July.

I feel like i'm about to hit rock bottom with my current issues and I'm just wondering if its worth sticking out with this T? I dunno if I can genuinely cope until July when we have only begun August for the same thing to potentially happen again if I were to have my appointment in July.

Thanks

[BonnieJean]

I don't think I could handle this situation. It sounds like maybe t has too many patients or works short hours.

[anilam]

He wont/can't offer you a fixed time slot? Yours I mean?
If not I wouldn't stay with him I need stability/ stg I can count on.

[Safari_]

Originally Posted by BonnieJean

I don't think I could handle this situation. It sounds like maybe t has too many patients or works short hours.

Thanks for the reply, yeah maybe that is the case but he still is taking on new clients so its frustrating..maybe i'm being pushed out?

Originally Posted by anilam

He wont/can't offer you a fixed time slot? Yours I mean?
If not I wouldn't stay with him I need stability/ stg I can count on.

Thanks for the reply..Yeah I haven't been offered a fixed time slot..

It just burns cause I considered him to be a good T until all this scheduling stuff went downhill.. :/

Try setting your appointments several weeks at a time in advance. That might solve the problem. I don't have a set appointment for my T either (don't really want one as my schedule is too unpredictable for that), so I simply stay several weeks ahead of schedule which pretty much solves the scheduling problems.

[sunrise]

When my T gets super busy with clients, I run into that problem too. We solved the problem by having me book more than one appointment at a time--say 2 or 3. This worked great. When he is not as busy, we only book one at a time.

[Safari_]

Thanks for the replies guys, seems like a good suggestion.

So for the meantime do I see another therapist as a one off?

[roads]

I alway book at least two--preferably three--appointments ahead. I make sure this is agreeable in the initial conference.

When we're in therapy, crises will arise--and access is imperative. A T who doesn't realize/acknowledge this is something of a masochist as far as I'm concerned. Avoid these ... all they do is make you need more therapy to recover from them!

Take care of you.

Roadie

[healed84]

I agree with the others, when I needed to see him weekly and it wasn't happening he started having me schedule a couple of weeks ago to assure my spot. I do get a bit annoyed when my normal slot has been scheduled, but it happens so often these days so its not an issue.

I think my issue is his unwilling to be available for you during a crisis... Usually Ts have a cancellation list and your name can be put on it and you get called when a cancellation has happened. I know my T try to leave one day open a week for dictations, but will see someone who needs to be seen.. I think these are things that you need to look into and see if T can accommodate. If not, I would say.. find a T who can!! Sorry you are in this spot, I hope you feel better soon!

[Perna]

I'd just see if you could get a fixed time slot for awhile; tell T you feel the need to see her more often and the problem that when you see her less often, calling for an appointment puts you at the same level as a new client and you'd appreciate more consistency right now. But I think you'd have to agree to see her at least weekly; I don't think she can afford less often because then she'd have the burden of getting another client for the "other" in every other week.

Speaking for myself, I needed regular weekly slots. I needed to know the support was there for the rest of the stuff to wk.

[Safari_]

Thanks for all your replies guys, its really appreciated..

So in the meantime do I seek another T?

I just am struggling to hold out at the moment..

Thanks again

[wotchermuggle]

Originally Posted by Safari_

Thanks for all your replies guys, its really appreciated..

So in the meantime do I seek another T?

I just am struggling to hold out at the moment..

Thanks again

I wouldn't. I WOULD call your T tomorrow and tell him that you need to see someone on a regular basis starting in July and can he accommodate you? Then you will know if he can/can't and you can start looking at a new T right away instead of sort-of seeing someone new and waiting for your regular T.

[pbutton]

Is this T in private practice or through a community health clinic? I had the same problem before I switched to a T in private practice.

[tinyrabbit]

Is this meant to be long-term, open-ended therapy, or is it time-limited? I personally have a standing appointment that is mine unless I cancel it. I can't imagine having to book each one individually, or not having a set time, but I'm in open-ended therapy.

What matters, ultimately, is not what we think you should do, but what you want to do. Do you want to get a new T? Would you like to see someone who will give you a regular slot? I do think you should have been able to get an appointment much more quickly in a crisis, and if I was you I'd be finding a new T. But I'm not you, so you need to decide what's best for you.