[AnxiousandAlive124]

Has a therapist ever called you sweetie? Or any other endearing term for that matter?! I'm curious to see how many people say yes or no. Also in what predicaments did they call you this?

[usehername]

I'm not a therapist, but I am a peer counselor... I use terms of endearment with people I've been working with for a while after a certain comfort level has been built.
Did it bother you?

[stopdog]

I have had them use such terms but not frequently - probably only when suffering from a series of minor strokes I would guess. I don't think they are meant literally or personally. I think it can be just a term the therapist uses in general- particularly if they are bad at remembering names. I asked the woman if she had gone mad - and she has not made the mistake again.

[growlycat]

Yes. Long term t said "goodbye sweetie" but it was an extreme circumstance. It was the last regular in person session I had before moving out of state. I have since had occasional appointments by phone or if I fly to visit my family I will see him in person. But now that is just once a year.

[AnxiousandAlive124]

Originally Posted by usehername

I'm not a therapist, but I am a peer counselor... I use terms of endearment with people I've been working with for a while after a certain comfort level has been built.
Did it bother you?

No it didn't. I'm a pretty affectionate person. However, I was just wondering how common it was and do you mean when the therapist is comfortable with the client or the other way around? She has never called me such a name before

[AnxiousandAlive124]

Originally Posted by stopdog

I have had them use such terms but not frequently - probably only when suffering from a series of minor strokes I would guess. I don't think they are meant literally or personally. I think it can be just a term the therapist uses in general- particularly if they are bad at remembering names. I asked the woman if she had gone mad - and she has not made the mistake again.

Lol! Gone mad...

[growlycat]

Originally Posted by AnxiousandAlive124

Lol! Gone mad...

Like putting sweaters on a cat. Ill advised at best.

[junkDNA]

He's called me kid..or punk.

My old.pdoc (not my former T) calls me sweetie and tells me he loves me. Which is a whole nother story

[usehername]

Originally Posted by AnxiousandAlive124

No it didn't. I'm a pretty affectionate person. However, I was just wondering how common it was and do you mean when the therapist is comfortable with the client or the other way around? She has never called me such a name before

Both... but I'm also a CNA and work in an involuntary inpatient setting. I suppose it's kind of worlds apart, really... also, as peers, we are in the floor in direct patient care roles 40+ hours per week with our clients, often for months. They're in lockdown and many crave affection, and we get close to them (particularly us peers, because we've often been through a lot of the same stuff that got them there). It can be difficult to keep boundaries in order. It's like walking a tightrope.

[InnerPeace111]

No, my T has never called me by an endearing term. I wouldn't mind if she did, though. It would probably just make me like her even more...if that's even possible!

She has said "my dear" before which i do like.

[precaryous]

I can't believe it but, no, this has never happened to me!

[venusss]

If they did I would puke all over and leave without paying.

It sound condescending and gross.

[Miss Laura]

My old Support Worker similar to a Therapist use to call me Sunshine or Cherub. I found them to reassure me. Also she use to call me Laura-Lou all the time too. Everyone I think of her it's always with great fondness

[ruh roh]

I think that's probably one of the last things my therapist would use in a sentence directed at me.

[retro_chic]

No and I think I would find it a little bit patronising if she did. It might depend on the situation though... Like if I was distraught or having some sort of breakdown it might not bother me.

[skeksi]

I wouldn't like it at all. My T rarely calls me by my name, so when he does, it feels kind of special. Even more so when he calls me by my nickname (a shortened form of my given name, i.e. Catherine-->Cathy).

[CharlieStarDust]

Nope. And it would bother me if she did. I like it when she uses my name, that feels very comforting and intimate.

[Purple dog]

Originally Posted by artemis-within

She has said "my dear" before which i do like.

Mine too! And me too!

[SoConfused623]

Originally Posted by CharlieStarDust

Nope. And it would bother me if she did. I like it when she uses my name, that feels very comforting and intimate.

I can't imagine my T calling me a term of endearment since she really doesn't say nice things in general. My long term previous T never called me anything like that either. However, I really do like it when my T says my name which she does a couple of times per session.

[CharlieStarDust]

Mine uses my name when I seem far away and in distress. I think she uses it as a way to connect; she knows terms of endearment won't work for me (regardless of my state of mind).

[BonnieJean]

No, never. I wouldn't like it. She uses my name about 5 times a year which makes it feel odd.

my therapist uses many terms of endearment

[kecanoe]

None of mine do, and I wouldn't like it if they did. The only people that I like to have call me sweetie are the little old ladies at church, who I know are doing it both because they can't remember my name and because they want to be nice.

[laffer75]

No I've not been called that by my T