Madame T writes...

So are you saying I could show up at a doctor's office, demand an appointment, and then declare myself their patient? No, of course not. That's not how it works and is incredibly self-centered.

Actually, some schools of thought are once a client -always a client. And the APA would not apply to CE.

Oh, yep. No APA in New Zealand. But they probably have their own body of rules that is similar to the APA.

What exactly do you mean by "expecting generosity"? You are requesting a session with someone whom you have had a professional relationship with in the past. Madame T provided you with a perfectly suitable (and thoughtful) response for a client she isn't actively having sessions with (or, an ex-client...however one wishes to view it). She certainly doesn't owe any more information to a client she sees on a regular basis either, although most likely her impending time off would be passed on in person vs. email.

My understanding of "once a client, always a client" is that it's meant to protect the professional boundaries of the client/therapist relationship so there are no blurring of those boundaries by becoming friends after therapy. That way the client can return to therapy with the same therapist (if they both agree to it) and the professional boundaries are intact. I have never understood it to mean that the therapist is bound by some regulation to always be available to the client in the future simply because they previously worked together.

That's what happened with me; my therapist's mother died. She never said who had died (I only figured out it was her mother a month or two ago and this happened almost 20 years ago!) and some stranger had to call when she was supposed to be back to say it would be another week yet. I had a standard day/time though that was kept forever so we didn't make appointments session-to-session, they were just understood and she'd just tell me "I'm going away for 3 weeks" or whatever. I think if you are a T who doesn't use the set day/time/date scheduling, it might be almost impossible to organize the come back before you leave.

Hey quit making PreacherHeckler so ticked off that she actually logs in to reply! I mean i like having you here, but i dont want your blood pressure to go up! i guess if i werent so lazy i would compose a decent response but as a powerful woman, i just cant go there.

Yes, you're no longer her client but...I wonder if she was like this during your sessions when you were her client (?) Was she distant? More blank-slate like? If so, I wonder if that was part of the problem...

Lol I'm not ticked off, hankster. Blood pressure's good too.