[SoConfused623]

Some people here mention having 2 Ts and I'm wondering how you would find that helpful? I'm so forgetful that I'd never remember what I told which one! It definitely wouldn't work for me.

OTOH, I just recently had 2 T's: the current one and the one that I was contemplating switching to, but that was only for 2 weeks, rather than ongoing.

[atisketatasket]

Well, one could be a specialist in something like CBT or EMDR and focus with you on that while the other is your primary therapist. Or the more perspectives, the better in my view.

I had two for a while summer-fall 2015. No problems. But I do know what you mean about confusion: I have had four different therapists since March 2015 and I can no longer remember which therapist knows what.

[stopdog]

I find it more helpful than just using one. One, for me, was a giant disaster. I am not forgetful, but it also does not matter to me if I tell the women the same thing. I never talk about one of them to the other of them.

I'm contemplating going to a 2nd one for a short time to talk about disentangling myself from current t...

[Out There]

I work specifically on trauma with EMDR T , and more generally with my regular T on all other things , including the meaning and purpose to the trauma. Between them they are what I need for now and each provides the things the other doesn't , but overall I would work with regular T. Working with more than one T is less usual here in the UK it seems , a lot of T's don't seem to like it. But if that's what the person wants and needs.....

[SoConfused623]

Originally Posted by artemis-within

I'm contemplating going to a 2nd one for a short time to talk about disentangling myself from current t...

Yes, I totally get this and was thinking of doing the same, but I'm back with my original T and we are going to try to work everything out.

[SoConfused623]

Originally Posted by stopdog

I find it more helpful than just using one. One, for me, was a giant disaster. I am not forgetful, but it also does not matter to me if I tell the women the same thing. I never talk about one of them to the other of them.

Thanks. I understand that you don't talk to the t's about each other, but do they even know about each other?

[SoConfused623]

Originally Posted by SoConfused623

Thanks. I understand that you don't talk to the t's about each other, but do they even know about each other?

one more thing...why was it a disaster to only have one T?

[SoConfused623]

Originally Posted by atisketatasket

Well, one could be a specialist in something like CBT or EMDR and focus with you on that while the other is your primary therapist. Or the more perspectives, the better in my view.

I had two for a while summer-fall 2015. No problems. But I do know what you mean about confusion: I have had four different therapists since March 2015 and I can no longer remember which therapist knows what.

Makes sense when you need a Specialty T....

I have not had more than one in parallel yet but can also imagine that getting different perspectives from different sources might be helpful for some. Also, perhaps the variety is more interesting, less overwhelming than focusing on the same person/feedback all the time. Plus, if one is not going very well at a time, maybe the other can compensate some. Same reasons as having more than work projects, hobbies, friends...

I had two psychiatrist's at once. One was my primary mental health caregiver. I saw the other for CBT. They collaborated together in drawing up a treatment plan.

[stopdog]

I like seeing how differently each of them will address the same thing sometimes even though they both profess to be psychodynamic. I usually tell the first one about things I found she handles less badly and then the second one does better with some things the first one effed up and simply was horrible about. The interesting part there is that the first one seems to think the reason I no longer tell her about anything other than pets or my sick person, is because she did such a good job helping - when in fact I simply quit telling her because she ****ed it up every time I tried.

Also - If one does not handle something well or if one is gone or whatever - I have the other one that I can deal with if I choose. I am not at the mercy of the whims of one of them. I have choice.

I have told each of them I see others. I have no idea whether they really care or not - neither of them said much about it. I would not let a therapist dictate to me who I do or do not hire.

[kecanoe]

Several reasons for me.

I need more than 2 sessions per week to stay stable. I was doing daily with T1, but when I went IP, the folks there freaked out about it. Pretty much they convinced him that was too much. I knew that I needed more than twice per week, so I figured out how to do that. I was pretty desperate. If I lived close to a PHP or IOP I might have done that, but there was nothing appropriate available.

Also, I have one who specializes in EMDR and one who specializes in somatic stuff. The somatic t also does EMDR and I am in the process of terminating with the EMDR t. But she helped bridge things for me.

Also, their different styles, personalities kind of guide our work together. I rarely work on the same issue with more than one of them. But then, I have lots of issues...

I don't worry about what I have told each one. If something comes up, we talk about it. Or sometimes I will say that I am working on that area with another t and the t that I am talking to will say ok and we'll change the subject. They do all know about each other.

Support, support, support. For quite a while I was so intent on suicide that I needed to know that I would see one of them the next day.

I never would have started with T3 if T1 had continued to see me daily. And even though my attachment to T1 is huge, T3 is the most helpful. She is just awesome like that.

[LonesomeTonight]

I don't see two individual T's, but I see a T and a marriage counselor. MC has helped me with some individual stuff both within sessions with H and over e-mail/phone/text (plus in a couple individual sessions to deal with transference, but those were just a one-, well, two-time thing). I find it helpful because they have different approaches. T is a bit more on the tough love side, pushing me to change and questioning me more about *why* I do things. Whereas MC is more on the validating, reassuring side. I feel like MC has a better understanding of me and why I feel/think/do what I do compared to my T, but T has been helpful in many ways, too. Since I have strong paternal transference for MC (positive/idealizing) and some maternal transference for T (both positive and negative), MC has joked that they're like "mom" and "dad" (even though he's not quite old enough to actually be my father).

It's also helpful because when I've had a conflict with one, I can turn to the other. Both helped me get through a difficult time in early 2016, which involved lots of outside contact over the course of a few days. By having two different people to reach out to, I felt I wasn't overburdening one T with my neediness. It's also good if one is on vacation, that I then have the other one to see in session that week or reach out to if needed.

Originally Posted by SoConfused623

one more thing...why was it a disaster to only have one T?

It's not. Having two I would feel is the disaster. A splitting could occur. A playing out of the early family dynamic.

[stopdog]

To each their own. Luckily, no one that I have heard of is forced to have two. And those of us who find it works much much better for us, get to do so.