[ChickenNoodleSoup]

Since I'm rather new to therapy, I kind of need advice on this (and the friend I normally would ask is not available, so this is the next best place that came to my mind).

My therapist offered me, several weeks ago, when I was very suicidal, that I could always call and we would try to arrange to meet earlier than planned.

I never used that offer, however, yesterday, that same friend that I'd normally ask came talking to me, and told me he felt very suicidal, he wanted to seriously end his life. I talked to him for hours, and got him to calm down. But I felt very triggered by it, and I can't deal with it well at all.

Should I call my therapist about this? (Although I do feel very bad, I think I could make it to my next appointment...) Also, if I would call, I'd call tomorrow, but since that is Ts day off, he'd only respond on Wednesday... is it silly of me to call a day before I know he could answer? I mean, who knows what could happen in one day, maybe I could feel great again on Wednesday (although I highly doubt that).

I'm just very confused about in which circumstances it's really okay to ask for an extra appointment. I don't wanna stress him out by asking for it when it's not really necessary, but I have a hard time judging what constitutes as necessary.

[ABC1357]

My T told me it's necessary when I think I need to talk to him. I rather use email, just because it's easier for me, but he is open to call. If you can't call but do want to talk to someone, suicide prevention hotline may help. I usually contact them first, and when that cannot help, I contact my T. I understand your feeling you don't want to bother your T, but your safety is more important, and calling T would be much easier than ending up in hospital.

[anais_anais]

I have never, ever regretted asking for an emergency session. And I am the kind of person where I feel guilty about contacting my Ts about even little things like schedule changes.

My rule of thumb is that if I can't imagine getting through the rest of the week without being in a very scary place, despite using the available coping mechanisms, I call. It doesn't have to be something as literal as self harm either, necessarily. I call for uncontrollable flashbacks, mostly (for instance). There's just no reason you should have to feel miserable until you see them again.

[kecanoe]

Calling and asking for an additional session during normal working hours is not asking a lot, IMO. It is their job. If they are busy and don't have openings during their regular hours I could see that it would be asking a lot. But it's not really any different from calling the Drs office a few days after you have seen the Dr and asking for another appointment if you are still sick. I say go ahead and call. Your t offered, and you are suffering and you think it would help.

[Tbhimscared]

Originally Posted by ChickenNoodleSoup

Since I'm rather new to therapy, I kind of need advice on this (and the friend I normally would ask is not available, so this is the next best place that came to my mind).

My therapist offered me, several weeks ago, when I was very suicidal, that I could always call and we would try to arrange to meet earlier than planned.

I never used that offer, however, yesterday, that same friend that I'd normally ask came talking to me, and told me he felt very suicidal, he wanted to seriously end his life. I talked to him for hours, and got him to calm down. But I felt very triggered by it, and I can't deal with it well at all.

Should I call my therapist about this? (Although I do feel very bad, I think I could make it to my next appointment...) Also, if I would call, I'd call tomorrow, but since that is Ts day off, he'd only respond on Wednesday... is it silly of me to call a day before I know he could answer? I mean, who knows what could happen in one day, maybe I could feel great again on Wednesday (although I highly doubt that).

I'm just very confused about in which circumstances it's really okay to ask for an extra appointment. I don't wanna stress him out by asking for it when it's not really necessary, but I have a hard time judging what constitutes as necessary.

Although you may not think this, I think that your T would appreciate you being safe and proactive about the possibility of your advancing suicidal thoughts/triggers. If you do contact them even if they won't answer in a day, the worst thing that could possibly happen is that they'll contact you when they're back to schedule an earlier appointment and you could say you're feeling much better. But if you decide to not reach out, there could be much greater consequences. Untimately It is up to you and I know how scary it is to reach out to your T in fear of judgement but I personally thing it would be better to be safe than sorry!! Good luck