[ThingWithFeathers]

Do you feel like a burden to your t? I do, and I am curious how common this is.

[ChavInAHat]

Yes, especially as I have to pay a reduced fee and have a lot of 'trauma' to work through which can't be easy for a T either

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[Walking Man]

Yes, but I don't feel so much like a burden as a hassle.

[Pennster]

No, I figure he signed up for working with people and he makes good money, so I think he does fine on his end.

[stopdog]

No I do not. I cannot imagine how one client who goes once a week (or even 7 times) for the time contracted for, pays, and leaves, could be a burden to the therapist who chose to sit there for a career.

[Ellahmae]

I do feel like a burden and very needy, especially right now in my therapy process. I need a lot from her I am thankful she's always reassuring that I'm not a burden or too needy and as SD said, she is always telling me she chose this as a career and she wouldn't be doing it if she didn't want to.
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Originally Posted by stopdog

No I do not. I cannot imagine how one client who goes once a week for the time contracted for, pays, and leaves, could be a burden to the therapist who chose to sit there for a career.

I just want to say that this makes all the logical sense in the world to me. I wish I could actually "feel" that way about it!

[ChavInAHat]

Originally Posted by stopdog

No I do not. I cannot imagine how one client who goes once a week (or even 7 times) for the time contracted for, pays, and leaves, could be a burden to the therapist who chose to sit there for a career.

Can I just say Stopdog that you really do make me question how I feel about therapy in a really good way! So thank you

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Sometimes I do when I am not able to express the content of my mind the way I would like, or when I feel I am not making progress. But then I remind myself that relationship and subjective feelings or not, it is really true that for the T's, this is a job the make living from, not a favor. I also have a job that is sometimes difficult and overwhelming (including dealing with people), but I choose to do it and more often than not, enjoy the challenges in it. When I had periods not feeling that way and perceiving it more like a burden, I usually found I had an issue that needed to be investigated. If the T's don't feel this way, I think it's more for them to look into why that is the case.

[TerriLynn]

Yes, and last week while talking, every time I talked I minimized the problem, which he proceeded to point out. I feel like my past isn't as bad as some other people's so maybe I shouldn't be wasting his time.

[divine1966]

Nope. That's their job. If their job is a burden they should do something else. If not us they wouldn't even have a job! I have students who assume they are a burden ( difficult ones). I always tell them if they were a burden I would be doing something else instead. I do bring some stupid example just to make them laugh. Like I'd be digging ditches or breed turtles etc

But on a serious note. They keep their jobs because we keep coming to appointments.

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No, not at all, even when I was in extremely bad shape. He was always very supportive and positive, and very willing and able to assist in a crisis.

[gayleggg]

Yes, I feel like a burden and what worries me most is it's just going to get worse as I get older.

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[atisketatasket]

No. I could see myself being a burden on my friends or family, but not a therapist that I've hired. Being a burden to me means that a very personal relationship exists.

[Bill3]

Like I'd be digging ditches or breed turtles etc

Breed turtles!!

[nottrustin]

During our sessions I do not because I know she is doing what she chose for a career. When I contact her outside of appointments I often do feel like a burden. She has never done anything to make me feel this way. I worry about being a burden to most people in my life.

[precaryous]

I feel like a burden to my family.

[junkDNA]

sometimes

[Favorite Jeans]

No. I generally do not. I sometimes have a fear of burning her out but that's clearly a transference issue not a concern from my logical mind. She chose this career. I get the feeling that she likes it and finds it rewarding. She is not at all overworked and I pay well for her time.

If she doesn't like it I'm sure there's a lucrative career in turtle breeding awaiting her.

[Cinnamon_Stick]

When I am having a crisis and we have daily phone calls I somewhat feel like a burden. She has never done anything to make me feel this way. I have always been insecure and feel like a burden to everyone. My T actually does a good job of making me feel important and not a burden. Its something I am working on.

[AllHeart]

Never during session. I used to during out of session contact time but not anymore. My T always encouraged out of session contact and often initiated it herself, and assured me many times I was not a burden to her, so eventually I got it through my thick skull that I she was in fact not a burden to her. Now I just pester her all the time burden free.

[divine1966]

Originally Posted by Bill3

Breed turtles!!

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[ilikecats]

Yes, most of the time anyways

[Bipolar Warrior]

I feel a bit like a burden to my private therapist because I very often show up late. My time management skills are horrible. She always lets me stay longer, as well, and I can't stop her from doing that because the digital clock in her office is behind me and I forget to look at it and just lose track of time (terrible sense of time, I sometimes feel like five minutes could have been an hour and an hour could have been five minutes). She's constantly reassuring me by saying she lets time run over because she wants to. I also get a student discount, so I'm not even paying the full fee. That poor woman has too much patience!

I feel like a much bigger burden to my uni therapist, because her official title is "academic mentor" and I currently have so much anxiety about my assignments that I stop functioning when she tries to get me to work on those. So then she just has to sit there and talk to me instead, and listen to all my problems (or "crap" as I like to call it, which she objects to). I also email her almost every week, and she always writes back, sometimes extensively. I always tell her she doesn't have to respond, but she says she wants to because I'm "precious" to her, and then I wonder what I have done to deserve all of that. I also contacted her once when I was in a really dark place, and she really supported me through that, which meant a lot to me, but it also made me feel bad for burdening her with that, even though she did tell me to contact her if I ever felt like doing "something bad". So I know that she's there for me, but sometimes it does make me feel bad.

[PinkFlamingo99]

Yes. I constantly need reassurance that I'm not "too much," since I don't pay and they are salaried and I figure they could replace me with someone less unwell. I also know they worry about my safety. They always tell me that everyone at this level of care is "very symptomatic," and they wouldn't be at the long-term top tier of the public mental health system if they weren't, but I know that my "symptoms" make me more in immediate danger than many of the other patients, and I do feel bad.

No, I don't feel like a burden. T knew what he was getting himself into when he decided to become a psychologist. And if he can't handle the issues his clients have, he needs to find a new career.