Are you more likely to keep a promise you made to a psych professional than you are to other people you know or encounter? Also are you more likely to keep a promise with one type of professional eg keeps promises to pdoc but not to a T/psychologist.

[spring2014]

I kept my promise to my therapist that I have been seeing for a year now on October 3 . I made a promise to her about me having suicidal ideation thoughts when I have them I call the Suicide Prevention Hotline . and also I kept my promise to her by taking my meds every night so that I won't lose her as my therapist.








Diagnosis: Anxiety and depression
meds : Cymbalta 90mgs at night
Vistrail 2 25 mgs daily for anxiety prn
50 mgs at night for insomnia

[JustShakey]

I'm more likely to keep a promise to a person I have a close relationship with. However I feel there is an awful lot of resentment between me and most of the people I have close relationships with, whether it's deserved or not, so I'm likely to not keep promises because I'm PO'd over something that probably has nothing to do with them. I'm not even that good at keeping promises to myself... I don't know exactly why I'm (somewhat) better at keeping promises to my T. I think it has to do with the desire to make him proud of me in the way I never could really be bothered with when it came to my parents. I was happier disappointing them somehow. I still don't like it when my mother says she's proud of me...
Sorry, this turned into a right ramble... Thanks for making me think though

[junkDNA]

i dont feel like i really make any promises

[unaluna]

Originally Posted by JustShakey

I*still don't like it when my mother says she's proud of me...

She would actually say that?? Gee whats that sound like?? :bittermuch:

[Rive.]

No. I wouldn't make a promise unless I intended to keep it. Regardless of the person I am interacting with.

Words are important to me & there are already enough people throwing empty/false words around. I most certainly don't want to be like that.

[JustShakey]

Originally Posted by unaluna

She would actually say that?? Gee whats that sound like?? :bittermuch:

My mother is complicated. We have a good relationship, and always have for the most part, but she is more like a sister than a mother to me in many ways.

[atisketatasket]

Other - I am more likely to keep a promise to a family member or my husband than any therapist.

[AllHeart]

I try my best to keep my promises to T. She gives so much of herself to me and has been nothing but good to me. So the least I can do to is try not to fail her by breaking promises.

I don't make promises with a psych professional.

[Cinnamon_Stick]

I always keep my promises to my T. I care about her very much and I can tell she cares the same about me. She always has my best interest at heart and has done so much to help me. The biggest promise I have made her is to call her when I am on the verge of acting on suicidal thoughts. I could never ever hurt her.

[spring2014]

Originally Posted by AllHeart

I try my best to keep my promises to T. She gives so much of herself to me and has been nothing but good to me. So the least I can do to is try not to fail her by breaking promises.

hi allheart,
I agree with you 100% .my therapist gives so much of herself too and also she's very good to me too. she waited patiently for me to come home from choir practice last night waited for me to settle down for the night . I called her back up after I took a quick shower and talked with her .she said to me that cares for me too.







Diagnosis: Anxiety and depression
meds : Cymbalta 90mgs at night
Vistrail 2 25 mgs daily for anxiety prn
50 mgs at night for insomnia

[stopdog]

I would not make a promise to a therapist. I see no other type. If I did make a promise to a therapist, I would more than likely not keep it because if I did such a thing it would only be due to duress.

[ejayy78]

The only thing my T makes me promise is my safety. So yes, I always promise to stay safe when she asks me about it or use my safety plan/call her if I'm not feeling safe. I don't know that I do this to better myself, i really think I do this to keep her from calling my "emergency contact." That's an embarrassing thought and I don't want my T to have to make that phone call. Ever.

It seems like the more people care/are connected to their psych professional the more likely they are to keep/make promises with them. Personally i dont make many promisses at all but if i do i will mostly keep them unless something unusual happens.

[Ellahmae]

My T has never asked me to make any type of promise.

Promises aren't really asked for by my T. They're infatizing

[brillskep]

I try to keep my promises to everyone no matter their profession.

[brillskep]

Hmm. I've skimmed through the responses so far and I find it interesting how other people seem to think of this question in terms of therapist asking them to promise something having to do with their own life. I've never made such a promise to my therapist. Three times or so I specifically said what I would do and when to encourage clarity so that I would indeed do something difficult for me, but those weren't promises to those therapists.

When I read the questions, I thought about how I sometimes promise my therapist (my own initiative) to do things for him like I wanted to bring him a special kind of coffee to share one time or send him a poem that was important to me, or my promise to do things that are expected such as show up at the scheduled appointments or cancel in due time and things like that. I don't like making promises to anyone that are about my own path in life - that only concerns me and I should only promise myself those kinds of things.

No. The only people who I make/keep promises with are my friends/family.

To me, a psych professional is little more than another person in the cutthroat world of business. Since I pay them for a service, I treat psych professionals as I would treat any other white collar professional: I don't trust them and I avoid agreements that aren't mutually beneficial.

I don't make many promises and can't really imagine any situation where I would promise my therapist or any other health care professional anything. I would feel ridiculous, like I thought that it mattered to him one way or another what I do. Come to think of it, that's what I would feel about any promises I might make. The exception is if I promise a child to do something for them, because that does matter.

[Sawyerr]

I used to make promises all the time and never keep them. Now, I stopped doing that and I don't know, but maybe, if I would make a promise to my therapist, I would try really hard to keep it. When at the same time, I don't care much if I break a promise to anyone else.

[Chummy]

I don't make promises and my T has never ask me to promise something. And I don't think she should ask me to promise something.
But I'm more likely to keep a promise if I like and respect the person to whom I made the promise.

I don't make promises to T and he never asked me to do so. He makes observations and sometimes suggestions that I am free to evaluate and follow up (or not). I usually like to follow up as that's why I am in treatment, to do things differently and to try things I may not think of by myself. Then I like to report and discuss the outcome, if any.

Imo, promises would only interfere with the freedom that should be part of the therapeutic process. When I follow up suggestions, I do it for myself, because I want to progress for my own sake, not because I promised or think I am expected to do these things.

Of course I make promises to other people in my personal and professional life, I think probably everyone does at times. Sometimes I keep them, and I strive to keep them, but it does not always happen.

[Stormyclouds]

havent promised anything with T yet.
but if he makes a suggestion i will follow it through...i wish he did so more often...but he doesnt.