[archipelago]

I have worked with my shrink for 5 plus years in intensive therapy that centers on the relationship as a key feature. Recently he has done a few things that went way beyond the call of duty. First when I was feeling an unusual flooding of intrusive memories of almost every traumatic experience, he suggested we meet daily for more than a month (he's an analyst). He set the conditions that he would charge me for 3 sessions and throw in the other 2 for free. We did that and did some intense work, even a form of exposure, and I felt much better.

Lately I have been feeling increasingly distressed due to fatigue, even exhaustion, that makes me worry about having a significant change in the amount of work I will be taking on. I was becoming distressed and hopeless. He added sessions, even one on a Saturday. He added the extra touch of dressing in jeans and bringing a picture of his hippie days, saying he wanted to make good on some promises. I had mentioned before that I wished I could see these things. He was obviously trying to reach out and make the connection strong.

We finally decided on a medication that is finally giving me relief. It is something he was not willing to try before and something he had to work to get approved, but he did all of this. And now I'm seeing positive changes.

I feel like he has done so much for me and pretty much saved my life and put me on a path to success and health. It feels great, a little overwhelming. No one has ever showed so much concern and caring for me. My parents were quite cold and even neglectful. And I have lived for long periods relatively isolated and have numerous experiences with people being outright mean. I suppose I'm not used to people being kind and generous. I tend to be pretty pessimistic about people generally. So even though wonderful, part of me is struggling with processing what he has done.

[ThisWayOut]

wow, your t sounds really awsome. It sounds like you guys have a good working relationship.
I can relate to feeling indebted to a t when they go above and beyond. My "favorite" T that I have had did a lot of that kind of stuff. She even saw me for free/greatly reduced rate on an open-ended basis at one time because I lost my insurance with my job. She would add additional sessions as needed, and was avalable frequently via phone. I plan to return to her when I move back to that area.
I think some T's are just ok with giving a lot. They can maintain their own balance when doing so, which makes it easeir for them to keep supporting their clients as needed.
<3

[unaluna]

Pretty amazing.

Ive told my t he is making it so that i have no "outside excuses" not to do the right thing for myself. I have enough love, enough support, etc etc etc. So we are getting down to how am i fighting myself or my evil introject or whatever. How do i stop becoming fearful of bad results from taking good care of myself?

[stopdog]

I don't see a need for indebtedness. It is their job and they do get paid. It is better when they are good at their job. I would not want to feel indebted to a therapist.

You feel how you feel. Perhaps explore why you feel as you do.

[Perna]

Remember, everyone does what they want. Your shrink has "enjoyed" helping you in this way or he would not have. Yes, he maybe did more than you or I would have or even just more than we would have expected? But he is following some method of his own madness We cannot "make" other people do things, either for or against us or stop them from doing things.