Is it inappropriate to wear cleavage-revealing clothes with a male therapist?

Please forgive me for such a weird question. I'm mid-20s and just getting past the point in my life where I just wore what I thought was cute without putting any thought into the impression my clothes give to others.

At my last therapy appointment, I wore a hi-low dress similar to this

http://www.summerdressesfashion.com/...dress-2014.jpg

When I got home and was looking in the mirror, I realized you can actually see quite a bit of my chest when I'm sitting down. I didn't think it seemed like a provocative dress at all when I bought it, but I have a somewhat large chest that likes to make its way out of a lot of clothes haha.

The thing is, a lot of my clothes are pretty similar. I have a hard time finding clothes that I think look okay on me due to my body shape, so I tend to stick to the same basic style. Is it out of line to wear something that shows any amount of cleavage when going to a male therapist?

That's really your call. How do you feel about it and how do you think you would feel if you were the therapist?

Me, I wouldn't want to show what you describe anywhere in public. I'd add a scarf. I dislike wearing low necklines, even though I'm not uncomfortable on a nude beach, go figure! It's a personal choice. I'm sure therapists, as health professionals can look past much more egregious clothing choices. (So many people dress like hookers nowadays, it seems.)

I think if you feel its ok then wear what you want.

I have no idea how I would feel as a male therapist. I'll probably never be a therapist, but I'll defeinitely never be a male therapist haha.

I'm the opposite with the neckline thing, I guess. Anything too high feels like it's choking me. I don't like things touching my neck. Even if I did, I wouldn't wear a scarf out in the 110 degree weather we've been getting!

I would say you should be yourself in therapy.... So I would think clothing choices would reflect you. That being said as people mature or start working in careers that are more conservative such as certain business jobs...or are high school teachers (lol)it is not uncommon for them to wear more conservative clothes for those occasions and perhaps dress slightly more casually for personal time...

If I noticed the T staring at my chest then that would be a signal to me....otherwise do what feels right to you

I agree with Readytostop - If you notice the T staring at your chest, then... otherwise, be yourself and wear whatever makes you feel good!

(of course, if the therapist starts flirting with you, then that T is unprofessional and you should get a new T)

How well do you know your therapist? Are you attracted to him at all? My male therapist is conservative (religiously), so as a courtesy to him, I think about what I wear when I see him, but I don't worry nearly as much when I visit my p.doc.

I usually see CBT T before work in the AM, so if what I am wearing is ok for work, it is probably ok for therapy.

I did notice that he had a stunned reaction to an anecdote I told him about a coworker. Long story, but it involved my coworker's breast pump (she was a new mom) and my awkwardness at small talk. Oddly, I felt like he was at least a little aroused by the story but he kept it together. After that, I've tried to be careful about anything that seems provocative

(finding him attractive does not help!)

Hi GingerbreadWoman - I think the dress is cute, and doesn't look abnormally revealing to me. I'd guess it was fine, especially if you're comfortable in it. I'd be a little self-conscious, but I don't really do plunging necklines (and definitely don't like any body parts trying to make their way out of my clothes!) For me, if I wore something like that, I'd be too preoccupied with making sure my clothes stay in place to get much therapy done!

I also have a problem with low-cut necklines (on myself.. don't care what anyone else wears). The dress doesn't look inappropriate, so if you were comfortable with it, I wouldn't worry about it.

It doesn't look all that immodest to me. As long as you're just wearing what you wear, not trying to look sexy for him or whatever--I'd assume he can tell the difference.

Mine actually asked me respectfully to not wear short skirts or bring a blanket, as he found it distracting. I was angry initially, but I see where he is coming from and I know that isn't an easy thing to ask a client.

I wear a ot of dresses to see T. Sometimes I fear I am over dressed but I do it because I like dresses and her room is so hot. Being hot makes me anxious so I tend to wear dresses to stay cool. I say wear what you are comfortable in and trust that T will mention it if it's not ok.

I'm not attracted to him in the "He is SO smoking hot!" sense, but I have a bit of a liking to him because he comes across as caring about me. He's not particularly "attractive," but you know, he's a male near my age who gives me the time of day.

I don't really consider casual dresses "dressy," but then I don't really consider four-inch heels dressy either. I'm really short, so they're just everyday wear/necessary for survival for me haha.

I don't personally feel it's appropriate for a therapist to ask someone not to bring a blanket for security, but that's just me.

I don't think it's so much the clothes as your attitude in the clothes. If you're wearing what you usually wear and you're comfortable in it you're not going to come across as inappropriate.

If I caught T staring at my chest I'd be so out of there...
Fortunately my T looks 50% into my eyes/at my face, 49% around the room and only less than 1% are casual glances at my body- like if I say my arm hurt and rub it he'll look.
I have the same thing about shirts touching my neck... however, my small breasts are safely tuck into a sports bra
That dress looks fine to me, though it really depends how good it fits you... I'd say wear whatever you would wear to work is a good suggestion.

I'm a guy and I don't see anything wrong with the dress. Typically it's been the therapists who have been told to dress properly and control their reactions, and patients are allowed to be comfortable and not worry about sending the wrong signals or people thinking the wrong things about them or acting on them. The only times I imagine a therapist would react to something like that openly is if what you were is an obvious deviation from what a person with your background or figure or sense of style would wear. Sometimes therapists (at least the good ones) would point something like that out to the patient, not as a judgement but to see what the patient thinks about this and if there is an intent behind it. Like a depressed person showing up in torn smelly clothes he hasn't washed in a month. Experienced therapists have seen a lot of different people and have developed more control over their own reactions, be it sexual ones or hostile ones. A passing glance does not mean the therapist is sexually aroused or distracted. People's eyes wander, and I think if you notice a pattern, why not bring it up indirectly, like saying you feel some men stare at you and it makes you uncomfortable and you question your choice of clothing even though you think what you're wearing is reasonable.

So overall I think it's considerate of you to not want such a thing to cause any distractions, all I'm saying is that don't spend too much time thinking about this. I think most people here agree that the dress is not inappropriate. My two cents.

It doesn't look like an immodest dress from the picture at all. That said, I'm pretty self-conscious myself of showing cleavage and I'd be really uncomfortable with it. If I am going to wear a shirt or something that will show cleavage when sitting down, I'll usually wear one of those fake camisole things under it (they snap to your bra to look like there is a cami under your shirt).
It's really up to you how comfortable you are. It's not an inappropriate kind of dress. If you feel it is distracting and it makes you self-conscious, maybe try a scarf or camisole.

If Therapists have a problem with dress code I am sure they will say so. At lest that is what I think.

That is NOT cleavage revealing. I see ten times worse on streets everyday (but it may depend on how others dress).

If it's something you'd wear to work or out in public, what's the difference with therapy?

That dress doesn't look especially revealing to me, but this said, I think people should be able to wear what they want to therapy.

Sometimes cleavage just happens. I'm pretty conservative in my dress, but sometimes they just pop out. I'm a girl. It happens. Don't worry about it.