[cka87]

So I saw my T for the first time after Christmas today and she had a new? tablet. She usually takes a few handwritten notes at the beginning of our session then sets her notes down and only picks them up to write something down maybe once more per session. I don't know what she writes, I never asked.

Today she had her tablet on top of her notepad and she was fiddling on it the entire time!! I have no idea if she was taking notes or playing a game but she was on it the entire session, mostly looking down at whatever she was doing on the tablet. It felt so ******. I wanted to ask what the hell she was doing on the tablet but I chickened out. If this is how therapy is gonna be I don't want any part of it. I don't have to pay someone 130$/hour to play on their tablet while I try to talk to them.

Just talk to her about it. You can set that boundary.

[AncientMelody]

Yep, I'd be irritated too!

People can be stupid with their technology. Sometimes we just have to call them on it and set boundaries. (As a teacher, I'm really good at setting technology boundaries).

[cka87]

Originally Posted by lolagrace

Just talk to her about it. You can set that boundary.

I wish i had said something. I kept telling myself she must be doing notes. she must be about to stop. she must be about to put it down.

Yeah, but my guess is she was playing around -- could have been with some sort of note-taking app (we'll give her the benefit of the doubt, sort of), but you can ask her to experiment on her own time and/or explain specifically what she is using it for during your session.

[ScarletPimpernel]

That would really bother me. My T doesn't take notes and she always keeps her phone on silent. I always have her full attention with constant eye contact. My Pdoc does the same. Only time I don't have my Pdoc's direct attention is when she's checking the computer if I need refills. So, yeah, a tablet would make me feel ignored even if it was simply for taking notes.

[Soccer mom]

My T. used to take hand written notes and I wouldn't notice. Then she started taking her notes on the laptop. Hearing her type bothered me. I joked with her that she could be emailing her husband, making her grocery list or all sorts of things. I have now gotten used to it and don't even always notice when she types. I'm sure she wasn't playing games or anything else. Maybe she's decided she needs to take more notes and you were just more in tuned with it since it was something new.

My usual T doesn't type, write or make any types of notes, and I like it that way. My temporary T makes handwritten notes from time to time, and I don't mind, but I think if he was my all-the-time T I would want him to remember.

[Lauliza]

Neither my T or Pdoc take notes of any kind during my sessions, even writing would bother me. I wouldn't hesitate to ask what they were doing if they had it or just go quiet until they looked up, so they can see you waiting for their full attention. The one time my pdoc checked his cell phone that's what I did and he apologized. I think you should set that boundary right away.

[NowhereUSA]

I've given my T a hard time He once wanted to send a note to my PDoc and I was like *right there*. And he's not a fast typer. So after about three minutes, I was like, "So. How's it going?" Then I started to get sarcastic with him.

I'd just call her on it personally.

Originally Posted by cka87

So I saw my T for the first time after Christmas today and she had a new? tablet. She usually takes a few handwritten notes at the beginning of our session then sets her notes down and only picks them up to write something down maybe once more per session. I don't know what she writes, I never asked.

Today she had her tablet on top of her notepad and she was fiddling on it the entire time!! I have no idea if she was taking notes or playing a game but she was on it the entire session, mostly looking down at whatever she was doing on the tablet. It felt so ******. I wanted to ask what the hell she was doing on the tablet but I chickened out. If this is how therapy is gonna be I don't want any part of it. I don't have to pay someone 130$/hour to play on their tablet while I try to talk to them.

I woulda said something. On my iPad I have several note taking apps, one for personal and one for business. I also use a stylus for handwritten. It's so much better for organzing.

God that would bother me so much. My t doesnt even take notes. Try and tell her that its really bothering you. She shouldnt be doing that.

[nottrustin]

I would be very upset. I hate when I am with hubby or a friend and they start checking their email or texts on their phones. I feel like I am boring them. So for T to do it would make me really angry.

As far as note taking. She has a form that she quickly fills out at the beginning of the session then she will take an occasional note but not a whole lot. At this weeks session she did take more notes than normal as we were trying to figure out possible scenarios for something I am going through, the consequences of them and who would be affected. So she was making a list of what we came up with.

[WrkNPrgress]

I used to wish my therapist would take notes because I thought that meant she would be looking at them between sessions and maybe putting in some extra thought to our sessions but in reading this, I'm glad she doesn't. Now I would find it distracting to see her looking at anything other than me.

Personally I'd rather her take notes. She has more clients, so I'm assuming she's not a computer with an infallible memory.

[cka87]

Yeah I like thr fact that she takes notes because she always seems to remember little things and always brings up what we have talked about in previous sessions. I guess I'll just have to ask what she is doing on her tablet and tell her it really bothers me. It is just like when you're hanging out with someone and they never look up from their phone- it felt crummy

[joj14]

My old T switched to electronic records and started using an iPad for his notes. I found it to be very annoying, but I also got annoyed with the writing on paper....I guess I feel like the iPad is way more distracting to me. I think you should mention how distracting it is for you when T is looking at the tablet the entire session and if they seem disinterested in what you're saying...mention that too. You have every right to tell them how annoyed you are. It's your session, your money, and your time.

[jaynedough]

I think I'd be a bit peeved. Hopefully she's just trying (at the wrong time) to figure out how to integrate tech in to her practice. If not, that was totally inappropriate.

My Pdoc started using a keyboard a couple of years ago. It was kinda jarring at first. Also, I had convinced myself that he must have some horrible degenerative neurologic problem causing him to need technological assistance. Talk about catastrophizing. Anyway, he has gotten much better with the tech since then.