T is due back tomorrow

Since she said she won't write to me this weekend, why I am I checking e-mail every 5 minutes again? I do that all day on Sundays until I get something from her, since that is the day she usually writes. I don't even know if she will write to me tomorrow, or how long it is going to take her to catch up after her vacation. I'm worried about what she is going to say about my last letter to her, and if I got it right. I haven't written to her in a week either, since I knew she wasn't here and didn't want to pester her and fill up her inbox while she is gone. I miss her. And I'm glad I'm not going to lose her when I move. I wish I could go and see her.

It sure does seem hard when your therapist goes on vacation. I know that it is easy to come to depend on them to help us get through our weeks.

I know for me, last weekend my psychologist took the labour day weekend off for a nice relaxing long weekend. Unfortunately for me, it always seems that when he takes time off is when I need help the most. I have been having horrible anxiety attacks that I can't seem to handle & my meds aren't touching them unless I take enough to completely knock me out for the day. I tried figuring out what might be effecting me & realized that it would have been my Mothers birthday during the days that he was out of town. On top of that, I ended up going through several other stressful situations that just piled on to make the anxiety attacks even worse. It got so bad that I actually called up during the week after he returned.

It is wonderful to know that your psychologist is there for you. It must be a great feeling knowing that you won't loose her when you move. I am not sure what was in the letter you emailed to her that you are that nervous about, but it sounds like you are expecting some kind of response from her. It was good that you realized that is would be inconsiderate to fill up her inbox while she was on vacation. I am sure she will appreciate that she only got one letter from you. I do know how hard it is to be away especially when we are in need of help.

She will be there for you soon.......do you have weekly appointments? That is how mine are set up.....every Sunday afternoon. I am not going to be as lucky as you. My move is going to be clear across the United States,so I am not sure how I am going to find another psychologist as good as the one I have now. That is also adding to my stress level.

Your therapist will be there for you now that she has had a chance to get away from everything & have a well deserved vacation of her own.

Debbie

I don't normally have too much trouble with her going on vacation, but this time was harder. I understand her needing a vacation, and wouldn't deny her that. I just wish that it weren't right now, and I am anxious for her to get back and to reply to me. I was having a particularly hard time right before she left, and didn't write fast enough for her to reply before she left, I guess. I was hoping for her feedback on a couple of things that are going on right now, having to do with my move and planning to set up my life in a new location - jobs, school, house hunting, etc., as well as trying to find a balance between what I want and what my husband wants. I feel like I ought to be able to give up what I want, at least for now, but when I told him that I would try to, I ended up crying for two days, and I couldn't stop it.

I want to see her too, but she lives so far away that I never have been able to more than like every other month. Now I don't know when my house will sell and I'll be moving, so I don't dare schedule. Since I never did live near her and we mostly do e-therapy, that won't change much when I move. Maybe I would be able to go see her more often.

Would your T consider doing e-therapy? Not all of them will, but you never know until you ask. You might prefer to find someone you can see in person there too. Anniversary dates of all kinds can be very stressful. When do you get to see your T again? We can keep each other company.

Rap

((((((((((( Rapunzel )))))))))))))))

I'm glad your T is back. I hope you get to see her soon and find some peace in your tormented mind!

I still haven't heard anything from her and I'm down to checking email every 30 seconds. Now I have to go to work. Maybe it's a good thing I have to go to work.

Thanks fo responding. I need to know that I'm not invisible and somebody is out there.

Rap

(((((((( Rap )))))))))))

I'm here.

Hugs,

Jan

Yeah that is how I felt a while ago. One time I was real upset because I had almost a month to wait because my Psychologist went on a vacation and was full with paitents for weeks. Email is so helpful!

E- therapy and LL no way. LOL see here therapists don't give out their personal email or even a work email. The reason they don't is because Email in not covered by confidentiality rule. sending an email is like sending a post card through the US mail - nice picture but open to all to see. The therapist is not the only one that sees the emails that get sent back and forth. The email company - yahoo, hot mail gmail and so on, you have to register with them including a password that they keep on file with your account so at any point those hundreds to thousands of people who work for those companies have access to the password and can at any moment open the email accounts to varify that the person is upholding the email companies rules and so on or to just read for any reason that they want to.

That email also has to go through a network of "lines and towers" to get from the person to the therapist and the therapist to the person kind of like cell phone access goes through towers and phone companies have phone lines and cable companies have their lines that email has to travel whatever internet access route you have, and those companies that the computer is registered through and the people that work there have access to the computers by way of your account with them so at any point if they wish any number of people can access your computer with your account information and then access your email accounts, its especially easy to do with those computers that the owners click on the "remember me" icon on their emails, security settings and websites that they visit. The company doesn't need to know your passwords all they need to do is access your computer (they have the computers IP number for that automatically shows up each and every time you visit a website including email accounts,and then using your computer access go into those email accounts. Hackers do this all the times, as do the police when they are notified by email companies of questionable matieral being sent through their service. Its in part how the police are able to infiltrate pediphiles and other on line preditors.

Another way I look at emails is that it ss like this website - people can find this website and read it without being a registered member.

Poeple don't necessarily need to be a member of my email buddy lists. any number of people can intercept my email and read it (not to mention the fact that they can "right click and copy" and then send it on to who ever where ever the reader wants.)

Emails and passwords give people a false security that if I send an email that no one will know what I am saying to my therapist. But in actuality when emailing there is no way to know who and how many are reading those emails.

Which is why on line communication is not covered by any real time USA medical and or mental health confidentiality laws and rules.

My therapist LL also has other professional reasons why she does not giving out her personal email. She has a caseload of 60-65 clients that she sees. Some are weekly, some are every two weeks and some are as needed. If she gave out her personal email she would not have a personal life outside of her practicing therapy. she will have no down time and then not only is she not good for her clients but she is not any good for taking care of herself because she will be in burnout.

For those who don't know what therapist burnout is, its severe depression and anxiety. When it happens while and because of work its called - burnout.

Another reason alot of therapists don't do email therapy with their clients is because medical insurance does not pay for on line therapy. it pays for face to face sessions. And a therapist usually charges for any amount of time that they take with a client - face to face, and also time spent on things that the therapist must do for and about the client outside of therapy sessions. For example when my therapist attends any court appointed hearing with, for or about me she has to charge my medical insurance under the agencys code used for Advocacy.

If my therapist charged my medical company under advocacy every time she would be reading an email from me there would be no money for face to face sessions because we would be using up all my allotted funds that my medical card allows for therapy sessions.

Me do E therapy with LL -

even if this state allowed it I would not do it. I like the fact that what I want to say goes directly from my mouth or hand in the case of my letters and journal entries, to LL ears or hand and what I do say and do with LL is seen and heard only by LL. and I have a choice to tell my friends myself face to face when I want them to know what I am doing in therapy.

that in itself makes LL's and my time together special and unlike any other relationship that I have.

She still hasn't written. She's probably busy if she just got home yesterday or today.

I know all the arguments for and against e-therapy - it is one of my topics of interest and we covered all of that before deciding to do therapy this way, and I didn't really need to debate that again here right now. My feelings about missing my therapist when she has been away are the same regardless of the modality we use. I would not be able to work with her without using email, and she is the one I wanted to work with. I talked her into trying this, and it has worked out well for us. No, insurance doesn't cover the online sessions - I pay for those out of pocket and they are deductible on my taxes. It is a choice that I made and maybe it isn't a choice you would make, and that is perfectly fine, but that isn't relevant to this thread. If you want to discuss the pros and cons of e-therapy, feel free to start a thread for that, and I'll join in sometime when I am up to it.

No problem I just found the questoion of whether or not a person would do E therapy interesting so answered it based on me and what I know about it and conversations that I have had with my therapist when I have from time to time asked for her email address.

I am glad that it works for you.

((((((((((((Rapunzel))))))))))))))

Hoping you hear back from her soon--

Elizabeth

She is back now, and wrote to me. I was afraid I would have to wait until the weekend.

Thanks for bearing with me here.

Rap

I am horrible when my T doesn't call me back, quick!!! I only call him when things are really bad. He usually gets back within 24 hours. That just doesn't seem fast enough. I will call zillions of times throughout the day..not leave messages, just call. I wonder if he has caller ID, if he is ignoring me, AGGHHH. I am glad your T is back, hope you are feeling better. My thoughts are with you!

Dee

((((((((((( rap )))))))))))))

i'm glad she's back and you've heard from her. i "hear" the slight relaxation in you.

KD

Yeah, I guess I'm not quite as tense now. I should have taken her vacation as a vacation from therapy stuff, I guess. Except that I eat, sleep, and breathe that with my classes and everything. But now she's putting me back to work redoing my homework again. It usually takes me several tries. Hmm, maybe I should have kept revising it and filled up her inbox afterall.