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  #51  
Old Nov 14, 2014, 03:59 AM
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CantExplain CantExplain is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Asiablue View Post
Has anyone experience their T resetting the boundaries of the relationship in terms of outside contact/communications/emails/texts etc? How did you deal with the boundaries being tightened?

After a huge rupture that has basically threatened whether therapy will even continue, my T has taken away my crisis plan ( which used to be to call if I felt really awful, or suicidal or like self-harming). Her new contract is now absolutely no contact outside of the session.
I hate this new contract and haven't even tried it yet. I just told her I was taking a break from therapy to try and decide what I want to do. I feel really angry with her and kind of abandoned.

I can't decide if I want to go back to her now. I hate the idea of not having a safety net of the crisis plan. I can imagine going back and being really angry with her and not trusting her anymore because she took away my crisis plan. And if that's the case, maybe I'm better not going back to her at all.

If your therapist has taken away things or implemented stricter boundaries, how did you react and deal with it? Did it turn out to be a good thing?
At one point Madame T insisted that I stop sending her hate mail. Her timing was pretty nearly perfect, although she claimed she should have done it sooner.

Anyway, I found I didn't really need to do that any more so it wasn't a problem.
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  #52  
Old Nov 14, 2014, 07:07 AM
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Asiablue Asiablue is offline
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Originally Posted by CantExplain View Post
At one point Madame T insisted that I stop sending her hate mail. Her timing was pretty nearly perfect, although she claimed she should have done it sooner.

Anyway, I found I didn't really need to do that any more so it wasn't a problem.
LOL at hate mail. What's wrong with hate mail? Everyone knows that hate is just the other side of the love coin! Mine were going that way too, I feel like I've been cut down in my prime!
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  #53  
Old Nov 14, 2014, 09:36 AM
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rainbow8 rainbow8 is offline
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Originally Posted by Asiablue View Post
I think the texting definitely did become a crutch in some ways, but I don't think my T has taken them away to make me evaluate my feelings for myself. From what I can tell, she felt like we were both being overwhelmed with material and issues arising from the texting and subsequent phonecalls. I think that she is trying to take away all the angst that arose from whether I should call or not and texting to just making it a clear " no contact" policy. And that that would also steam all the work back in session time and not have it bleed out into the days in between. I think she hopes that might reduce the amount of anxiety outside of session.

I say " I think" because I'm not 100% sure why she's doing it. And I can see sense in that reasoning but it just seems like an overly simple solution to my issues surrounding being anxious outside of sessions and anxiety around whether I need to be speaking to her or not.

I think there's several layers to what going on with my anxiety, which is activated by insecure attachment to her, fear of calling too much; hence not being sure I should be calling her or needing her, and issue of containment of the material from the sessions.

I think it would be better for her to get to the bottom of all that and figuring a way forward than simply just taking away my safety net of access to her outside of sessions.
Your reasoning sounds accurate to me, but can you discuss it with your T so you know for sure? I understand needing your safety net. I think your T took away too much all at once like mine did.

How did I cope? With difficulty, because holding her hand was the best part of my therapy, and gave me something I desperately needed. I was frustrated because my T thought it was becoming sexual for me, and I kept trying to tell her it wasn't. When she decided holding her hand was okay again, the first time, I kept asking her if i was dreaming!!

As far as emailing, it was a mutual decision and I was ok with being allowed to email but getting no responses. I know I have changed because she now writes the same brief answers, but I don't get frustrated or disappointed anymore. I'm satisfied! When she reminded me about why she changed the rule, I told her "Your responses are perfect!"

I didn't ever have the urge to quit because I like/love her so much. I knew that I wasn't going to see another T after her. Her methods are different from the other 5 Ts I saw, and she's helped me in ways traditional Ts never could.
  #54  
Old Nov 14, 2014, 11:43 AM
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junkDNA junkDNA is offline
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my T told me to not next him anymore like 2 yrs ago. he said it was distressing to him bc i would text him all these depressing suicidal things. he also wanted me to learn how to cope more on my own without being dependent on him rescuing or saving me.

we text now though. almost every day. i think i needed that period of not texting him. i think it broke the cycle of me being in constant crises. i learned more effective ways of helping myself. not to say that he doesnt help me now in distressing times, but i am more able to handle bad days than before
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  #55  
Old May 31, 2015, 09:47 PM
musinglizzy musinglizzy is offline
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I know this is an old post.... but I stumbled across it via a Google search. Read the whole thing, and I found it so helpful to help me understand my feelings in my own boundary reset experience. Thanks! (Although I don't think Asia is on here anymore?)
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  #56  
Old May 31, 2015, 10:27 PM
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Creative ToFu Creative ToFu is offline
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When I was in therapy with my formal T of 6+ years, she started to allow emails and for a while she took them away for all her clients (nothing I did), and it did upset me. We talked about it and she allowed them again but had rules that was okay with me. Basically emails were extra support but not something to rely on as much as being in session. I was allowed to email her all I wanted which helped me a lot because I am a writer . But the stipulation is that she will keep her emails short and sometimes she may not be able to email me back. This boundary was agreed upon by us. Sometimes I would question her if I emailed her too much sometimes and she would always say that I never demanded a reply or get upset if I didn't get an email or if the email was short. Most of the time she responded, but sometimes she didn't and it did upset me a bit but I knew our boundary rules and so I dealt with it maturely.

Now if your T really didn't discuss this with you and just implemented the rules, it would feel very cold and hurtful if you were allowed to email before.
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  #57  
Old May 31, 2015, 10:50 PM
musinglizzy musinglizzy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Creative ToFu View Post

Now if your T really didn't discuss this with you and just implemented the rules, it would feel very cold and hurtful if you were allowed to email before.
This helps me in my situation too. My T hasn't taken Emails away (yet), but she took touch away, implementing the rule without discussing it or even telling me about it. Just let me figure it out on my own. Not talking to me about it hurt more than the rule change itself! Because I'm left wondering what's next. Yes, three months later and I'm still struggling...as far as the Emails go, I've been taking them away. Don't want to get attached to Emails, ya know, because those will be on the chopping block next...
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  #58  
Old May 31, 2015, 11:29 PM
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Musinglizzy,

I think that is terrible that she changed her boundaries without talking to you about them. If that happened to me, I think I would think I did something very wrong or that she didn't like me anymore, my mind would go to the worst thing. So now what was suppose to supplement the support and bond was taken way and actually creates more distance and mistrust. It's no wonder Musing that you are afraid of contacting her by email. I'd be scared too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by musinglizzy View Post
This helps me in my situation too. My T hasn't taken Emails away (yet), but she took touch away, implementing the rule without discussing it or even telling me about it. Just let me figure it out on my own. Not talking to me about it hurt more than the rule change itself! Because I'm left wondering what's next. Yes, three months later and I'm still struggling...as far as the Emails go, I've been taking them away. Don't want to get attached to Emails, ya know, because those will be on the chopping block next...
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  #59  
Old May 31, 2015, 11:47 PM
musinglizzy musinglizzy is offline
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I've been blaming myself for three months. And YES on the distance and mistrust. I worry what's coming next. Because since touch, she's also eased back now on some other things. All of this was all after she assured me NOTHING would change here (in therapy). Everything that meant anything to me changed....I'm trying to work through this, but it's been three long months. I've started a termination letter. But that breaks my heart too. I'm so torn, and blaming myself for not being able to move past this.
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  #60  
Old Jun 01, 2015, 08:04 PM
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Gavinandnikki Gavinandnikki is offline
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It is such bad "therapy" when the therapist does not treat our feelings with great care. We give them our heart, they stomp on it, grind it into the ground, and then tell us that WE need to somehow adjust our thinking.

If our love smashes into their boundaries (which more often then not are variable), then it's OUR problem????

Pisses the hell out of me.
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  #61  
Old Jun 02, 2015, 02:22 AM
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While I've never been allowed outside contact, 1st T used to allow me 1 1/2 hour sessions or 2 hour sessions. (Billing catered for it)

I used to express worry that I was having "extra time" and she told me literally that she would be the one who determined if I needed longer sessions, not me.

Eventually she told me that we would have to stick to 1 hour, or at the most 1 1/2 hours because of boundaries.

It hurt because it sounded like it was my fault. It was something which felt "taken away". There wasn't discussion about it and I just quietly said "okay".

Fortunately 2nd T said she will never give something she might later regret and have to "take away", because I'm scared that touch (brief, rare touch) will be taken away.
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  #62  
Old Jun 02, 2015, 03:31 AM
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PinkFlamingo99 PinkFlamingo99 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinandnikki View Post
It is such bad "therapy" when the therapist does not treat our feelings with great care. We give them our heart, they stomp on it, grind it into the ground, and then tell us that WE need to somehow adjust our thinking.

If our love smashes into their boundaries (which more often then not are variable), then it's OUR problem????

Pisses the hell out of me.
Further, insisting that it's fine for them to give something that feels like "too much" to us and then taking it away, crosses OUR boundaries.

A lot of things my therapist did extra for me, I felt uncomfortable accepting. It felt like way too much, but she insisted I accept them and learn to trust. When she took them away, I felt like I had done something wrong. But as I get more distance I kind of feel like her insistence upon my acceptance of all the "extras" she gave me kind of crossed my boundaries. When she took then away, I felt unsafe. It seems like pushing us beyond where we feel comfortable. I knew if I got too dependent and she hurt me, I would be shattered, but she convinced me to drop my usual safeguards, and then hurt me. In actuality, our own boundaries and limits of comfort are as important as theirs. If something feels way too risky, it probably is.
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  #63  
Old Jun 02, 2015, 09:02 AM
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unaluna unaluna is offline
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I know the discussion is about "boundaries", but i wonder if the problem isnt more about their being unreliable, untrustworthy? Thats what pink flamingo is saying, right?

When my t gave me a coffee mug as a transitional object before he left on a trip, for a long time afterwards i felt like i had to give it back to him. Like no way was it mine to keep. Which reminds me of a couple few incidents in my childhood.

So the ts are saying, "oh im going back to boundaries" when what they are really doing is being unreliable. Thats why musinglizzy is so ticked off. Especially the not noticing part.

I think its possible to heal from such a rupture, but both parties have to be really honest and aware of what exactly happened. The t action of taking away while the client doesnt notice really ticks me off too - that seems sneaky.
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  #64  
Old Aug 09, 2015, 02:42 PM
musinglizzy musinglizzy is offline
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Especially for Bay, I wanted to bump this thread up, because I found it SO useful earlier this spring when I read it. I've come back to it a couple of times.
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  #65  
Old Aug 09, 2015, 05:45 PM
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PinkFlamingo99 PinkFlamingo99 is offline
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This thread is what made me join PC. It came up in a Google search.
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  #66  
Old Aug 09, 2015, 05:49 PM
musinglizzy musinglizzy is offline
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Originally Posted by PinkFlamingo99 View Post
This thread is what made me join PC. It came up in a Google search.
Wow! That's neat! I think it is a great thread!
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  #67  
Old Aug 09, 2015, 06:49 PM
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BayBrony BayBrony is offline
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Originally Posted by musinglizzy View Post
Especially for Bay, I wanted to bump this thread up, because I found it SO useful earlier this spring when I read it. I've come back to it a couple of times.
Great minds...I just read the whole thread..
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  #68  
Old Aug 09, 2015, 11:52 PM
Anonymous37903
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No she hasn't.
  #69  
Old Aug 10, 2015, 12:04 AM
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PinkFlamingo99 PinkFlamingo99 is offline
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Originally Posted by musinglizzy View Post
Wow! That's neat! I think it is a great thread!
I was wondering if anyone else in the world had ever gone through this. I thought I was such a freak that I was the only one with such a strong, painful reaction to what was happening.
  #70  
Old Aug 10, 2015, 04:52 AM
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magicalprince magicalprince is offline
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That kind of behavior is so irresponsible and frustrating.
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