[Lemonpledge]

So I go to therapy for OCD and it's major I clean my house 10+ times a day. I use antibacterial wipes in public wash my hands a million times a day. But I also don't like going out in public. I do everything early so I miss crowds.
When I am in therapy my therapist mostly wants to talk about my cleaning not sure why.
I want to tell him something but I don't know how. I certainly don't want to just come out and tell him I'm a medium. Several times in his office a woman has tried to come through. I ignore her. I told a previous therapist and he called me a lunatic. I am afraid of that again. That's why I don't like going out to crowds.

If she comes through again should I just start with him or should I just say hey when I am out in public, I often hear dead people talking to me.
He will probably go get the white jacket.

I mean how often does a therapist come across this, I'm unsure.

Any suggestions on how I should go about telling him?

[unaluna]

My feeling is, hey maybe we just dont have the science to measure what happens yet. If you have a feeling in your session, my rule is i just say it. You never know where it might lead. Just because our brains and memories are wired so bizarrely. If you always try to make sense, its like throwing away the extra scratch biscuit dough after cutting out your first biscuits W A Y . F A R . A P A R T !

[possum220]

Extreme sensitivity probably plays a huge part in your OCD. Sensitivity like that may lead to 'gifts' (wanted or not). Any decent therapist won't have an issue with that. If it helps you to tell him take a copy of your first post and give them a copy. It may help you break the ice.

[BonnieJean]

Originally Posted by hankster

My feeling is, hey maybe we just dont have the science to measure what happens yet. If you have a feeling in your session, my rule is i just say it. You never know where it might lead. Just because our brains and memories are wired so bizarrely. If you always try to make sense, its like throwing away the extra scratch biscuit dough after cutting out your first biscuits W A Y . F A R . A P A R T !

Love the metaphor!

[Lauliza]

I think you should feel comfortable telling your T anything, but be prepared that he may not believe 100% or at all. A psychiatrist or phd level psychologist may be more likely to attribute your belief to MI. A regular therapist (counselor or social worker) may react the same as anyone else - some believe, some don't. I don't think anyone will hospitalize you just because of this either, so I don't think you need to hold anything back.

[stopdog]

I would not tell one of those people about this sort of thing until you have known them for a long while. Then I would test the waters first by mentioning the idea and seeing how they reacted. I probably would not mention it at all if it had nothing to do with why I hired one of them.

[boredporcupine]

A therapist should not call a client a lunatic. EVER.

There are certainly T's out there who don't believe in the concept of being a medium and may want to attribute that to something else. But one thing T's should get through their heads is if someone has a belief that's not causing distress or impairment, then you should leave it alone, regardless of whether you agree with it or not.

I guess it's up to you whether you want to share it or not. I guess I just wanted to point out that if a T makes a big deal out of having a problem with it, they aren't doing their job right.

[Soccer mom]

I would definitely tell - maybe he knows her! Wow, fascinating!

[Ad Intra]

Give it a go, you never know. I know social workers who believe in things like this. Just last week I was talking to a co-worker about spirits and people's sensitivity towards them.

[Lemonpledge]

This actually does play a roll in the fact that my fear of public places, because anyone in public who has a family member or friend who has passed they try and connect through me and I don't like it and there for I stay at home. I only go see my T. It's a "clinic" so there are a lot Of people there and I wait in the hallway for him to get me . It's not crowded.

He hasn't called me a lunatic , just don't want him to think that. And he is a lmhc but I see a psychiatrist every other month for my meds. I have been seeing my t for 5 months.

[wotchermuggle]

Maybe feel out the situation first by talking about mediums in general - like on that TLC show.

[Lemonpledge]

Originally Posted by wotchermuggle

Maybe feel out the situation first by talking about mediums in general - like on that TLC show.

That's what I was thinking. Maybe just wait till that woman tries to connect with him again.

When I was 13 I told my therapist and oh my god I went through hell because they wanted to see, they put me in a room with about a dozen people and watched me through a two way mirror. Did they really think I was that stupid. People came but I refused.
One lady that was a psychiatrist she was upset with me and she grabbed me as soon as she grabbed me, her mother came through, it was weird. I have had plenty of people touch me, but no one ever came through that way.
When that started happening I tried not to touch anyone or have anyone touch me and I use an excuse for them not to touch me.
My whole life has suffered from that. That was 25 years ago I was 13

[XenaStrikes]

Just tell your T. Nothing to lose by the telling.
Wishing you the best of luck and good health.

[stopdog]

Actually there could be a lot to lose by telling one of those people. Therapists are not necessarily more open minded than others. And they can use such info to diagnose someone with the wrong label or worse.

[Lemonpledge]

Originally Posted by stopdog

Actually there could be a lot to lose by telling one of those people. Therapists are not necessarily more open minded than others. And they can use such info to diagnose someone with the wrong label or worse.

Yes that's what I am worried about. They put me in a mental hospital when I was 13 because I told the doctor I hear voices in my head and they wanted me to tell other people stuff. I was 13 I didn't know what those voices were.
That's when I was kind of forced to give my first "reading" when that stupid psychiatrist grabbed me.

[JustShakey]

I think it would be difficult to have a decently healing relationship if you're not able to trust your T with something so important about yourself though...
I would certainly be cautious in the telling, but as long as you are not a danger to yourself or others I don't think that most mental health professionals would want to hospitalize you. They might not agree with you and may want to push meds, but they can't force you.

[stopdog]

I would not find it better if a therapist thought I was imagining something I knew was true. I don't find it odd not to trust them with this sort of information.

[JustShakey]

Originally Posted by stopdog

I would not find it better if a therapist thought I was imagining something I knew was true. I don't find it odd not to trust them with this sort of information.

I doubt they'd think you were imagining it, but they might well disagree about the source.
But then again you and I do therapy very differently Stopdog. There's more than one way to skin a cat...

[Lemonpledge]

I'm going to tell him. I do trust him. When I was 13 and they tried and forced me to do readings, someone kept coming through for the psychiatrist that grabbed me, I had ignored her mother ( she had told me her mother passed and that's why she got upset as I was refusing to do a reading) several times until I guess she just gave up. Not sure how it works. But as soon as she grabbed me it was almost instant, her mother came through.

I don't know if this woman will come through or if we have to be touching. That's what I am also afraid of. I have ignored her just like I ignored that womans mother. I get a lot of anxiety touching men I literally start shaking.
Even if it is just a finger. I don't even know if I would be allowed to even touch his finger. I don't want to get him into trouble.

[unaluna]

"There's more than one way to skin a cat..."

No actual animals were harmed during the production of this metaphor.

[Salmon77]

It sounds to me like this is a big part of who you are and how you interact with the world, and so it is something that should definitely be part of your therapy. How your therapist will react I'm not sure, but I would hope he could discuss it with you in a helpful way whether or not he 100% believes you. If he can't, then maybe you need to find someone who can.

As someone said above, if you're not posing any danger to yourself or others (and it sounds like you're not) it seems very unlikely that your T could have you involuntarily hospitalized.

[Lemonpledge]

It is a very big part of who I am and I wish it was not. The best part is when my mother comes through when my son is with me. Not everyday. She could never come through without him being around.

I feel positive spirits around my therapist and kind of feel like he might just believe me.
I have an appointment on the 11th of August I will let you all know how that went.

[divine1966]

Originally Posted by hankster

"There's more than one way to skin a cat..."

No actual animals were harmed during the production of this metaphor.

You are too funny

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chartres]

Your mediumship abilities sound like they are related to your ocd and fear of being in public (perhaps the cause?), so finding someone who can help you look at the whole picture is probably pretty important.

You might consider finding a transpersonal therapist. Someone with that orientation would hopefully be more open-minded about spiritual matters, even if they dont personally believe they may be less likely to pathologize.

I am clairvoyant and a big part of my therapy has involved coming to terms with this, learning to live with it and create energetic boundaries so that I feel protected. There are skills you can learn so that you are able to control the flow of interaction with the spirit world so that you can live your life more normally. You probably won't learn this from a therapist though. You may need to find an alternative practitioner such as an energy healer or spiritual emergence specialist to work with, ideally in collaboration with your therapist.

[Lemonpledge]

Originally Posted by Chartres

Your mediumship abilities sound like they are related to your ocd and fear of being in public (perhaps the cause?), so finding someone who can help you look at the whole picture is probably pretty important.

You might consider finding a transpersonal therapist. Someone with that orientation would hopefully be more open-minded about spiritual matters, even if they dont personally believe they may be less likely to pathologize.

I am clairvoyant and a big part of my therapy has involved coming to terms with this, learning to live with it and create energetic boundaries so that I feel protected. There are skills you can learn so that you are able to control the flow of interaction with the spirit world so that you can live your life more normally. You probably won't learn this from a therapist though. You may need to find an alternative practitioner such as an energy healer or spiritual emergence specialist to work with, ideally in collaboration with your therapist.

Yes this is a big reason I can't stand to be out in public. I want to be open about it. So I told my husband last weekend. And I told him at first I didn't want him to think I was a lunatic. So I explained to him in away he would understand. Then I told him about this woman he dated when he was 25. She came through a lot and that night I told him she helped me in a big way. He never told anyone. He was dating a woman and her ex husband was so jealous he shot her. My husband has blamed himself for 30 years because he wasn't there to protect her. She said for him to let go of it and move on. I saw that he wanted to marry her and how much he loved her. Unfortunately for me he will never love me like he loved her. I saw the tears in his eyes when I was talking to him.
Anyways he is not one to believe in that and now he does.
I do feel some relief telling him and I think it will help a lot to tell my T