Unusual Requests

What's the most unusual or unique thing you've asked your therapist to do for or with you? How did you feel about asking, and what was the therapists response?

For context, I'm going to ask on Saturday to listen to a voicemail in session and I'm anxious that he'll say no or try to probe why I want him to.

I told her one time during my first year that I didn't want to do a sand tray that day because the mood I was in, I would need to dump the sand on the floor and completely start from scratch. She didn't miss a beat and said she'd go find a plastic bag or something so I could do that.

I didn't take her up on it, but maybe I should have.

At the end of July, just before we were due to break for the summer, I was feeling really anxious about how I was going to handle it. A few days before our closing session, I had the idea that I could ask R to write the words 'I'm with you' on a post-it note that I could stick in my journal.

She said them in our first session, and it was so different from my prior experience that they took on extra significance. She observed that I found it difficult to ask, and was 'more than willing' to do so.

I still have the Post It in my journal.

Explain compounding interest. And to switch chairs. He explained the interest, but for some reason hesitated over the chair.

I don't think your request is odd, or that they'd refuse. They might want to talk about it - maybe brainstorm ways to handle scary voicemails.

I hate voicemails, by the way. I can't even stand the phone ringing. Hardly anyone has my number - they e-mail me.

We haven't done it yet, but we've talked about looking through my late mother's handbag (purse for American readers) together. She died nearly 4 years ago and her bag has been untouched in my garage ever since. It still has whatever money she had and everything else in it. I can't look at it on my own. T has always said he will go through it with me when I'm ready.

I once asked my therapist if I could sit on the floor. He said no. It was so mean, and I was angry with him for saying no. It took me weeks to tell him how it made me feel.

What a ****. I love sitting on the floor.

Did he have a reason? Maybe he felt it was unsanitary or something.

Where do I start? She's been great about everything so far.
- playing music/videos
- my journal
- taking a field trip to show her my routine of getting to and leaving the old office, we were still 7 months from the move and I was already stressing about the change in my life
- Remote control cars
- reading children picture books
- shooting hoops with nerf basketball
- visiting me in the hospital after surgery
- putting together jigsaw puzzle

Most of these have been done without much discussion around them or at least not before we do/did them. Talking about something I want to do before we do it is a stresser for me and leads me to thinking I am bad for wanting it. A few things we have talked about first.

ETA - signing a birthday letter I wrote from her to me.

Umm we sit on the floor frequently.. yeah, did he have a reason?

She let me take a piece of her office decor to keep at my house while she was away out of the country. I can't remember if I asked or if she offered, though. I think asking him to listen to a voicemail with you seems perfectly reasonable. I have occasionally brought in text conversations to read to my T, and this seems similar.

i asked him at the end of may he we could do our sessions sitting on the floor and he has still done it every single session since

we also go on a 20 min walk every session now too. he also has agreed on more than 1 occasion to let me photograph him.

he basically agrees to anything i ask lol.

Played delivery driver.After bringing my daughter to college she realized she forgot a couple of absolutely necessary items. College is about 1 1/2 hours away. It is only a few minutes away from T's house. She had offered in the past to bring things down if necessary. Never thought I would ask. But we had no time to do it ourselves...partially because things were very stressful at that time for me. She said she was happy to do it especially if it took one thing off my plate.

He explained that his type of therapy (ISTDP) requires chairs. Lol, I'm not kidding. o_O

In all seriousness, he said emotions start in the core, and sitting on the floor makes it hard to feel your emotions. So he had a reason, but I was pissed anyway. I didn't care about his stupid reason. The worst part is that it had taken me weeks to gather up the courage to ask him if I could sit on the floor.

^ i find the floor way more relaxing and so much easier to talk about hard stuff and express emotions etc. not sure i believe what he says about that

I asked Blank Slate T to please help me be accountable to work projects that I needed to be getting done. I wanted to give her a list of things I wanted to do during the week and then the next week I wanted her to follow up and ask me if I had done them. I wanted her to keep me accountable and she flat-out refused!

I had also asked if she would please meet me at the door when I came in the door and walk me to the door when I left the appointment. Her doorknob was a little tricky and I would hate while she just sat there watching me struggle with it every week. She wouldn't do it so I asked if she would simply stand up and she wouldn't do that either! I really hate it when the focus is on me and I thought that if she walked me to the door or evenstood up that she would at least be doing something and not just staring at me...

She was so inflexible that there's not one thing that she would ever do for me that was even slightly a little different than just talking.

Mine has listened to voicemails and opened snailmails. And one time we ate pepperoni rolls. I send him non-t related emails sometimes, like yesterday there was an article in the nytimes about a class in teaching your dog Yiddish. We both like Yiddish.

asked him to fly to MA with me to go to a group facilitator training. he did.

asked him if i could slap him. he let me

Man, your therapist is so nice.

I know! The reason I wanted to sit on the floor was because I thought it would make it easier to talk about the hard stuff. I thought it might help me get in touch with sadness, a feeling I don't have much access to during sessions. I know this because I like to sit on the floor when I'm sad, and I often cry on the floor too.

Now I'm mad at him again. Did I want to bring him flowers yesterday? Maybe I should bring him a rattlesnake instead.

I've shown her texts / emails from family -- mostly to get confirmation that yes, I'm not nuts to think they're nuts. I didn't found it terribly unusual and nor did she.

3 once deleted a voicemail from future ex for me (neither of us listened to it). And read a Skype chat between us to confirm my sense he was being manipulative.

She didn't bat an eye at either, but when I took a letter from No. 2 to an appointment with CW so I could read it with someone there. CW seemed to find this strange. I did not.

Yep he is very nice, I got way lucky but also with my past history and trust issues, the super nice thing scares me, he knows that but I struggle so much with it. I find myself wanting to push him away more and more the nicer he is but I'm forcing myself to stay and experience this.... as hard as it is

And LOL to the rattlesnake comment.

I got a voicemail from someone being unexpectedly nice, i was a bit shock and so I played it to my T, it was no big deal for us so I guess not unusual. I did also make her clean her ceiling fan because i was so hot (she said it was too dusty to put on, I didn't care as I was hot lol), apparently I was the only one to ask that but it just makes sense to me

Told him to take his shoes off.

Not really a request from me and maybe not unusual but I found it sweet that T called every night when I was in the hospital due to a mini-stroke.

For a church group i wrote a story about my life and faith journey and present it in front of strangers. It was very intense and had to be about 30 minutes long. T let me email my drafts so that she could offer input.

Then before I was to present it, I asked if I could read it to her so that I could practice saying the words it felt weird. Especially some it was very religious and t is not in any way.. then I had a second appointment that seem to practice again. In 9 years I have had about 5 extra appointments in a week.