Outside noise...

More recently when I go to my sessions and I am in the room, I hear outside noise more than before. I find this not the norm as it never happened all the time, like the last few sessions it has. I like a quiet place with my thoughts with my counselor.

When you are there talking about something very serious and deep, next thing you hear is, people in the halls talking, laughing and talking about, well, stuff that shouldn't be discussed in the halls about things they went to, it also sounds like it happens very close to the office. It bothers me. There is a place for that type of thing, it's not conversations with counselor and client walking down the hall either, it is full on loud conversations with employees within the agency.

(I had a issue with over hearing personal details about other people within the agency in the waiting room. I no longer wait there as a result. This stuff bugs me.)

Next to his office another counselor and client are talking... most of the time I hear everything about this persons personal life. I can't talk about my most serious stuff, while all these other things are happening.

Then people who work in the building, chatting loudly in the hall about some event they went to and then some counselor and their clients conversation... It bugs me. It feels weird. It's almost like I should open the door and invite them all into the office to have a lovely party because I already know what they are talking about, but they can't hear me as I talk quiet.

My counselor usually turns this sound, wave, air, water, something or the other on to block out the talking. It doesn't do anything for that, it only helps to ground me I have found...

I don't want to feel like a high strung person while there with all these issues. I just like quiet. Me talking about something very serious that is going on with my life and how derailing it has become, oh but wait, I hear the other persons issues in the next room and wait, what is all that laughter about some event employees are chatting about. It then becomes like, I don't matter because I need to talk over all of the other crap in order to focus on my thoughts and feelings.

Last thing I want to do is be a whiny *****. I don't know what to do without sounding like I am a complainer...

I would mention this to my counselor. There may be things they can do to help.

ETA Being able to hear other people's conversations would bother me too.

I would totally tell the T.

I usually have my sessions at night but a few times, I've seen current T during the day.

I've heard the Ts on either side as well as their clients talking and laughing, loudly.

Also, just random noise.

It's driven me absolutely nuts -- I don't know about you but even the slightest noise when I'm in certain emotional states, drives me to really serious rage (like I can't think any more).

So, I told current T about it -- she didn't fully get it but enough to know that it bothered me.

She also has a buzzer for clients to get rung in after hours. At my night sessions, she's sometimes had a client after me.

The buzzer ringing suddenly has me shutting down completely and then I feel really unstable.

So, I've told her that she needs to let me know if there'll be a client ringing the buzzer after me, in which case, I'll watch the clock and end the session before time so that I can avoid the sudden, jarring intrusion.

We haven't put that into practice as yet because after I told her that, she hasn't had a client come in at that hour but I guess it'll happen soon enough.

Woah. That is really weird and totally unprofessional. I would NOT be ok with overhearing other client's conversation or them hearing me. People making loud conversation in the hall is not ok either. You have have valid complaint. It's not whining at all.

I don't think that's whining at all. I have a really hard time with noise outside the office. My therapist does her best to complain to building management. Once, the noise was so bad (construction machinery down the hall that did not end), I said I was about to go out and smash their heads against the wall. My therapist suggested we go for a walk instead, so that's what we did.

I've had an issue with noise disturbing our sessions. I wouldn't want to over hear other sessions either. I told him that it had been bugging me for a while and the end he gave me an alternative time slot.

Thank you for the responses.

I will be talking to my counselor about this. I can't do anything about overhearing other sessions but I can step out of his office and tell those in the hallway to shut up. I will bring it up with him.

I woke up thinking about it. I most likely would leave his office to tell off the people in the hallway and I would be loud about it. However, outbursts like those can get me into trouble but I just can't deal with that stuff. My head already won't shut up with crap and I can't think, so over hearing those things, it makes it more difficult for me to cope.

I have no issues with talking to the Executive about it as she knows me from another complaint I made, which literally changed the agency from what she told me.

It just bugs me.

I don't think you're being a whiny complainer at all. I don't think that kind of noise is appropriate in that setting - especially not hearing someone else's session?! - and I think the vast majority of people would be unsettled by it just as you are. I certainly wouldn't be okay with it.

My therapist's office has white noise machines in every hallway and waiting area. It really prevents you from being able to hear what is happening in the offices.

Ex T used to have an office that shared a wall with the waiting room of a fairly large practice. She told me that one time she went into the waiting room and asked someone to lower their voice and that person filed a complaint with the owner of the practice! There were staff who witnessed the whole thing, and they backed up exT, so nothing came of it, really. Ex T did manage to eventually get moved to another office.

But yes, it was distracting when people were loud in the waiting room. I didn't feel like they could hear me-we were clearly only hearing people out there who were being pretty loud. But it did interrupt sessions.