[amd95]

*SI trigger warning*

I'm in college seeing a therapist at school, and I'm going through a rough patch. I used to SI, but I haven't in 3 years, but I was having thoughts about it and I was thinking about telling my therapist. I don't know how she would react, mostly because we've never talked about it, and I really don't want her calling my mom (emergency contact) and telling her because she never knew about it. When do therapists usually use emergency contacts? Do you think that if I told my T about SI thoughts that she would use it?

[dapplebay]

She wouldn't use it unless she felt your life was in danger

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[ScarletPimpernel]

My mom and my fiance are my emergency contact. The ONLY time she'll contact either is if she hospitalized me. And even then, she will only state that I'm being hospitalized and where...nothing else.

[TheWell]

Ask her. Tell her you want to talk about non-Sui self harm but you are worried if you do she will call your mom. So talk about it but don't give any details until she tells you if she will call or not.

I think she will not call. I talk about SI with my therapist all the time.

I've understood it to mean something that requires hospitalization or an injury/accident/medication reaction of some sort where I need care outside of therapy, or a ride home. I'm not sure how SI fits into that, but I guess it would depend on if you need medical attention? It's more of a notification clause. The last one I saw said it did not relate to sui thoughts, only if I had an accident while there and/or needed hospitalization.

If I were you, I would just ask her what it means to her, and if there's any uncertainty after that, then try to broach the topic of SI to the extent that you feel comfortable.

[sidney1771]

If you aren't sure what your T would do, you can always take the approach I did with mine when a questionable subject came up that I wanted to discuss. I would put it in the form of a hypothetical. "What if I said..." "How would you react if..." This gives you the chance to speak 'off record' and play out scenarios, what you don't want to happen and so forth. It also gives the T a chance to explain what they are required by law to do and how that process works, so the two of you can discuss things. In the 8 years of working with my T, we have gotten through cutting, suicide alerts, and self-medication incidences without having to call in emergency contacts or the police.