[nurse8019]

New here, and having a hard time posting; sorry if I'm in the wrong place! ☹
Q: How frequently did you see a therapist in the very beginning of your treatment? I have 2 sessions under my belt in the last few months since I started, but was diagnosed almost 15 years ago, and have had an unexpected(foolish me!☹) and sudden 'return' (?) of debilitating symptoms and am trying to be ok. I feel needy by thinking that once a month sessions seem pretty infrequent...anyone else felt that they were out to sea? Thanks so much!

[WhatDayIsItAgain]

Hello I think you should call and ask if they have an opening a little sooner for you. Sometimes other people cancel their appointments so an earlier spot might be available. It is nice you joined the forum.

Hello and welcome to PC.

[fishin fool]

Welcome aboard

[nurse8019]

Originally Posted by WhatDayIsItAgain

Hello I think you should call and ask if they have an opening a little sooner for you. Sometimes other people cancel their appointments so an earlier spot might be available. It is nice you joined the forum.

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea-will do! ☻

☻ 'You can do the thing.'
-a tiny Foxato ☻

[nurse8019]

Originally Posted by fishin fool

Welcome aboard

Thank you so much! ☺︎

☻ 'You can do the thing.'
-a tiny Foxato ☻

[nurse8019]

Thank you! ☻

[kaliope]

hi nurse
just starting out, i think weekly is the norm so that the therapist can get a handle on things and focus on where to go. describing your symptoms as debilitating frequent visits make sense to help stabilize so you are not floundering on your own. then every two weeks when things are going ok. once a month is for when you are stable and just need check ins to keep you on track. you arent able to get much work done or support on that kind of schedule so your feelings are justified. i see my therapist twice a week due to my diagnosis and the amount of work we have to do, not because i feel i need it. i just have to work thru a lot of crap if i want to not be in therapy the rest of my life or continue to have relapse. if you have the option, seeking out a counselor who can better meet your needs might be worth looking into.

welcome to psych central. you will find we have several forums where you can post about your concerns and receive feedback from other members. you will get a lot of support here. again, welcome

[nurse8019]

Originally Posted by kaliope

hi nurse
just starting out, i think weekly is the norm so that the therapist can get a handle on things and focus on where to go. describing your symptoms as debilitating frequent visits make sense to help stabilize so you are not floundering on your own. then every two weeks when things are going ok. once a month is for when you are stable and just need check ins to keep you on track. you arent able to get much work done or support on that kind of schedule so your feelings are justified. i see my therapist twice a week due to my diagnosis and the amount of work we have to do, not because i feel i need it. i just have to work thru a lot of crap if i want to not be in therapy the rest of my life or continue to have relapse. if you have the option, seeking out a counselor who can better meet your needs might be worth looking into.

welcome to psych central. you will find we have several forums where you can post about your concerns and receive feedback from other members. you will get a lot of support here. again, welcome

Thanks a mint, Kaliope! I can see why the more frequently would be the better effective-I appreciate your help! ☻

☻ 'You can do the thing.'
-a tiny Foxato ☻

[Nammu]

I think once a month is too infrequent. Once a week at the beginning is what I thought was normal. Then once things got settled it could go either way. Sometimes its biweekly and sometimes more dependent on the symptoms. Once a month is usually a maintenance check up.

[Shancan]

I have been weekly for the last 9 weeks. And probably still have another 8 weeks or so of weekly ahead of me. Hoping to drop down a bit sooner if I feel comfortable. If I had to wait a month between sessions I don't think there would be any progress made.
Hope you can get in more frequently and it helps!

Best to you!!

[kazaa]

I'm at once or twice a month now (after starting to see new T in early January -- I think this week will be 5th time or so that I've seen him). I honestly feel very frustrated about the timing of appointments and really can relate to the feelings you described in your post (I feel awful being "needy" and worry that I'm asking for more than I really should need or deserve). I feel like I spend a lot of time thinking about stuff on my own now and just kind of a complicated mess of feelings about it still (I really feel kind of resentful/bitter/ashamed when I read that other people get to see their T way more frequently, pretty frustrated that I'm stuck doing so much on my own, and have a lot of different concerns/worries about being excessively difficult/annoying/needy).

I hate confrontation, but this has been really bothering me, so I actually already asked about it last month (I think by email initially -- just asking if it would be possible to schedule more frequent appointments). He seemed somewhat resistant to that idea (suggested we talk about it in person). I figured that was a no, so hoped he would just forget I asked, but he brought it up in person, and I basically backed off immediately then (this is very common pattern for me though -- while I usually can ask initially for something I need, if there is even slightest amount of resistance to my request for help, I usually end up feeling extremely uncomfortable and rescind request as soon as possible).

I think I probably will ask one more time (next session is later this week) and then just end up seeing somebody else if he can't fit me into his schedule more frequently. Mainly, I think it would be helpful to me (and maybe for you and your T, as well), if he could explain more about how he makes decisions about frequency/scheduling. I think we seem to have very different opinions about it and I don't understand if it is just a logistical issue or miscommunication about needs/expectations for therapy. I have a feeling it is more of the latter (which may be relevant to therapy actually -- like the stuff I mentioned above with asking for help and such), but if it is just a logistical thing, then that might affect my decisions going forward also (if I do really need more help/support, then may be possible that this just isn't going to work, and I need to see somebody else instead who has more availability).

[itjustis]

Originally Posted by nurse8019

New here, and having a hard time posting; sorry if I'm in the wrong place!

Q: How frequently did you see a therapist in the very beginning of your treatment? I have 2 sessions under my belt in the last few months since I started, but was diagnosed almost 15 years ago, and have had an unexpected(foolish me!) and sudden 'return' (?) of debilitating symptoms and am trying to be ok. I feel needy by thinking that once a month sessions seem pretty infrequent...anyone else felt that they were out to sea? Thanks so much!

I have been seeing my T since the middle of November for once a week.
I feel I need more sessions as my therapy is coming to an end in June, but I also don't want to come across as needy and haven't had the courage to ask!
Maybe you could ask for a session every two weeks?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nurse8019]

Hi, thanks so much for the help! I hope that you do go with your feeling and make your dr aware that you have this request-you are not being needy, you are worth investing the time in! ☻ Thanks a mint!

☻ 'You can do the thing.'
-a tiny Foxato ☻

[BlessedRhiannon]

I've been seeing my T once a week for more years than I would like to admit to. When I first started with her, it was once a week right off the bat. For a while, I went to every other week, but that didn't work well for me and I went back to weekly.

My sessions were mostly weekly for a 12 session program

[nurse8019]

Thanks so much guys-I got the courage to make an appointment with a new therapist and we are weekly. So much better! ☻

☻ 'You can do the thing.'
-a tiny Foxato ☻