[ThingWithFeathers]

So my T's been away, and will be for some time. She arranged for a colleague to phone me and chech-in to see how I'm doing. Well, I got that call. And because I am finding it challenging with my T gone, we've set up an appointment this week. Just wondering if others have ever seen another T while T's away? What was the experience like? What was the focus of the session? Any feedback would be really appreciated. Thanks!

[Leah123]

When my T hasn't been available, I've occasionally consulted with another. We typically focus on just keeping me calm and grounded, so I'll talk about feeling anxious and strategies to deal with it for example. Or address some other current issue I want help with. Basically, I stick with something small to work on in the moment, I don't delve into my larger ongoing issues.

[dark_sweetie]

It was okay but definitely not the same in my case. I'm seeing main T again soon and getting the call that she was back was such a huge relief. She said I could stay with current T if it was more convenient (half an hr closer to my house) and I immediately said no I'd like to see her (main T) again. I didn't even have to think about it.

But, temp. T did help me get thru the summer and gave me a different perspective. So it wasn't the end of the world.

[archipelago]

I have the same situation coming up later this week. I do know the guy and have sessions with him before. He is very smart and has a great memory so he has somehow be able to keep my history in his head. That makes it a little easier.

But I'm not going to talk about my history this time. I had wondered too how would I use the session, but there is something up that is bothering me so I'm just going to jump into it and have him help me with it. He has a different temperament and style than my own therapist, but he is good in other ways. Actually in some ways, he might be better right now. He's more blunt and is less the happy optimist that my regular shrink is.

So perhaps the best thing is to just jump in and talk about what is up for you?

I once saw another cover person whom I did not know. It was more of a "maintenance" session so I just gave him some of my history and then related it to how I was doing. He was appreciative that I was able to provide him background and had a slightly different take on it than my usual therapist so that was interesting.