What kind if therapy are you in?

He probably can't do that it would be unethical for him to encourage you to stay if you suggested you need a break.
Mactastic, you know you will only hurt yourself by doing this
I know it's hard, painful and messy....the list is endless but what would the benefit of your break be?
I am thinking it would feel like he didn't care or that you were being rejected if he didn't encourage you to stay and not take a break and then all the feelings of loss and hurt would probably be overwhelming and are you strong enough to cope with that on your own


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current t is jungian with a good mix of transpersonal/art therapy/psychodynamic thrown in for good measure. ex-t's, I have no clue as they were a long time ago.

I am with a T who does Psychoanalysis. 4x a week. The more frequent sessions are typical with this approach. Transference is a major focus. I did CBT and also run of the mill talk therapy before that. CBT and Psychoanalysis seem like almost opposite approaches. CBT is forward looking, does not concern itself with the past, only questioning the validity of thoughts and beliefs that you have and providing a new way to think about them that is more helpful. Psychoanalysis concerns itself with the past, the reasons for why you are the way you are and why the patterns keep repeating. The constant reminder of the pattern almost seems to keep you in it, like the reminder that you are a certain way almost serves to add fuel to the fire, whereas the CBT approach gives you methods to stop the pattern. Unfortunately I never believed my 'alternative thoughts' about things/people I find disturbing so CBT never worked for me. Now I am going through the CBT manual by Marsha Linehan with my current (psychoanalytic) T, so it's like combining the two approaches. Time will tell whether it is successful. At least it will provide me with a little more positive structure and methodical approach to counterbalance my tendency to wallow in and relive the recurrent nightmare of dysfunctional patterns that I am stuck in. I believe that Psychoanalysis may be a little too unstructured for my natural tendency for self-destruction. I need something to kick me out of the natural state I am in, rather than simply let me describe the state I am in, which inevitably feeds it and gives it even more power. But I also need somebody to understand where I'm coming from and not simply demand that I follow the CBT approach as if the past has no relevance whatsoever.

current T we do psychoanalytical and CBT for my ed...she's done DBT with me also,but I'm not fond of it much

I hadn't really thought much about it...I know we've been doing some solution-focused therapy, while adding in some CBT.

I went to her counseling center's website and this is what it says:
Her therapeutic approach is insight-oriented, cognitive-behavioral, along with family systems, with a biblical perspective.

I think she's adding in a lot of CBT stuff with me but it's not straight CBT. I hate CBT -- I mean, it's good, but alone it's just boring. It makes more sense to me to add elements to it with other therapeutic techniques.

We are also focusing on trauma stuff -- or we are going too -- which addresses flashback, nightmares, dissociation and stuff. Learning to try to keep myself present in the midst of therapy...so some mindfulness I suppose. I suppose it also encompasses CBT because the trauma events skewed the way I view myself and the world. So trying to bring that back into reality I suppose.

I think there are good things from just about every form of therapy, and there are also limitations. All of them have a purpose. This makes me want to go back and reread my Counseling Theories textbook.

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. My T did a talk at a Jaques lacan symposium, so I assume a lot of her techniques are Lacanian.

Lacanian psychoanalysis. Sometimes I miss Carl Rogers.

He responded to my email today. He's really good about email contact and encourages me to email. Sometimes he will take the time to say more than "thanks for sending on your thoughts" and today was one of those times. He told me my feelings do not make him uncomfortable and does think they're important. He encouraged me not to take a break and said we should discuss my feelings in depth. In a way I got just what I needed because he told me my feelings are okay and that I don't need to be ashamed. Our session is tomorrow. I told him I will come, feet dragging. While I had the chance, I told him what's eating at me - that I'm in love with Dr. ____ and physically attracted to [First Name.] it pained me to type that but it needed to be said! The problem is that I don't know what I need from him in order to feel like I can work through these feelings. Sometimes I wonder if I crave a downright boundary crossing and that scares me. This sucks

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I am so glad your t was so supportive and especially that he seen that you needed some reassurance that a break is not in your best interests right now!
He is right, you don't need to be ashamed about your feelings, they are perfectly normal. I know they can feel so intense and out of control but remember you can control how you react to them.
So how do you feel now it's all out in the open, liberated?empowered? Scared s*******?
You are doing great work together.

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It's my thread but we've kinda hijacked it, I PMed you