[annielovesbacon]

I go to therapy to help with my anxiety and bipolar disorder, and we spend most of our time discussing my behaviors, thought patterns, and moods. But lately I have been having some relationship issues and I think they are stemming from my mental illnesses. I kind of want to talk to my T about it, but I don't know why but it feels awkward. Like maybe I should go to couple's therapy instead. Or maybe I'm embarrassed that I can't hold down a relationship.
Do any of you talk about relationships with your T? How does it go? What do you talk about?

[atisketatasket]

I'm kind of surprised you haven't talked about it yet. Normally therapists are all over that kind of stuff. Relationships are central to everyone's lives. You can't divorce them (no pun intended) from mental health.

So, yeah, go for it.

[kecanoe]

I talk about my relationships a lot. That is the place that I most want to be well. Over the years I've done both individual and couple counseling. And both have been helpful. But if your current issue is not being in a long term relationship, I would think individual therapy is a good place to start.

[ThisWayOut]

I've talked about relationships a lot, as several are central to my life. I don't exactly know how to seperate it all out. My mental health issues certitude impact the relationships, and the reverse is also true... I've even talked about sex (or lack thereof) with my t,but that is also heavily tired to why I'm in therapy...

[Waterbear]

I pretty much refuse to talk about my relationshi with my H even though it is not great most of the time. My T did seem to want to bring him into the room in the beginning but I told her how that made me feel and she seemed to stop quite quickly after that. It is as if I am trying to deal with me first. I can't explain it really because I am quite tired but it makes sense to me. I will discuss it in time and as he is home now, he will come up more often but it isn't my focus at the moment.

I would certainly talk about it if you want to. It is your time and space and you can discuss whatever you want to.

Even When we talking about others, we're talking about ourselves in relation to the other. So it's always worth it.

Can i just say you are not alone. I very rarely talk about my relationships with my T even though I have 2 daughters and bit of rocky relationship with one. I tried once but I felt he was being judgmental (He was, he admitted later) so I don't want to do that again.

I think the op meant do you talk to your T about others. Nit do you talk to others about your T.
I think

[ScarletPimpernel]

You mean relationship as romantic? Like bf or significant other? Or relationships in general?

It's weird, but I really don't talk much about my relationships with my T. Then again, minus professionals, I only have 7-8 relationships. I really struggle with relationships, so you'd think I'd talk about it more often. I've maybe talked about my fiance 5 times in a year and a half?

It's okay though to talk about your relationships with your T. It's normal. You don't need couple's counseling unless your partner wants to go too.

[therapyishelping777]

I went into therapy one of the main reasons being my relationships were just super messed up , kept falling into same patterns.. I have talked alot to my T about relationships and he's helped me a TON in rehauling my relationships, romantic, family, whoever.. but I've made some major changes in my thinking and choices due to our discussions and my breakthroughs in therapy.. It does all go togehter though, as I'm learning how to cope with my anxiety and defectiveness schema.. it has really helped my relationships just with dealing with other things with my T..

[stopdog]

Not much. I did not hire the woman because of relationship with others difficulties. At the beginning the woman wanted to talk about my mother so I would answer her questions. But I never really saw the point of it.
Now I talk about handling my person's illness and dealing with western medicine/practitioners mostly.

[TishaBuv]

The reason I need therapy is because of relationships. That's all we talk about. Yet, some relationships I have a hard time discussing because I can't stand to hear myself talk about it. I am embarrassed. I blurt the main points out like I am reading the news.

The therapists have even commented saying things like 'that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!'

[WrkNPrgress]

Originally Posted by annielovesbacon

Do any of you talk about relationships with your T? How does it go? What do you talk about?

Wow, my experience is completely inverse to yours. I originally went in for 'personal stuff' but ended up almost always and only talking about relationship issues for a majority of my time in that office. I only recently began to really focus full time on Me.

I needed to talk about my relationship because it was very ... difficult.. .and at times abusive. My Partner and I were almost always fighting and I was always questioning myself and what I did wrong. I have a good amount of co-dependency stuff going on so separating myself from the need to please and take care of this other person was a huge part of the work I did and still do in therapy.

I had moments where I felt so repetitive and pathetic for only obsessing on the latest hassle in my relationship. I felt like I was always and only complaining but my T assured me that it was important. I quickly came to the conclusion that my relationship was not healthy and it was getting in the way of my own growth but I couldn't let it go without giving it my best.

I would highly recommend a couples counselor in addition to your own therapy. If your partner is on board and can help you pay for it. I did both and both sessions informed the other. It helped me a great deal to come at it from both angles.

Relationships are a huge part of our life! Examining relationships and how we engage with our family, spouses, friends all ALL part of the work. Anything you deal with in your relationship is going to touch upon your own stuff. So YES. Oh, yes DO talk about it. Whether we like it or not, we work out a lot of our own 'stuff' through other people, for better or for worse.

Good luck.

[SoConfused623]

Most of what we talk about are my relationships with men or my family. We've also talked about sexual stuff as it pertains to my romantic relationships and/or dating. Sometimes I feel like I over-share on some of the sexual topics and then I feel so embarrassed between sessions. She never seems judgemental and seems happy to talk about whatever I want to talk about sexual or otherwise.

[Argonautomobile]

I talk about relationships some, not a lot. I don't think you should be embarrassed to talk about it, or like individual therapy is not the place. While I think it's true that some issues in a relationship benefit more from couple's counseling, individual therapy is a fine place to talk about you in relation to your relationship--which can be hugely beneficial.

It was actually my T who initiated talk about relationships. It had never really been on my radar as something worth exploring--I thought I had fine relationship skills because my dealings with other people have always been pretty drama-free. But then I'd say something in passing about my husband or mom or whomever, and my T would stop me and invite conversation about it. I've learned a lot about the way I relate to other people from that.

I hope you are able to bring this up. Good luck.