Couch 157: Fair Value

When Willow becomes too annoying Salem sits on his head. I wish this was astraegy humans could employ as adults.

OK, so my T is awesome. I had a fight with H a few hours ago, then while I was crying about that, around 8:30, my mom called to let me know my uncle had died. He'd had terminal cancer for quite a while, and I was never especially close to him--he'd been separated from my aunt for years. But it was more feeling for my cousin (his son), who's only in his early 20s. And my aunt, who still cares for ex-uncle (and their son, of course!).

I texted T an hour ago (at like 9:30), saying what had happened and that I was upset, not knowing how he'd respond because I hadn't had that sort of situation before with him. Like I'd never sent an "I'm upset, help!" text. By 10, figured I wouldn't get response till tomorrow, since he'd said at one point that he doesn't check e-mail/texts or answer his phone between 10 and 7. But then he wrote back, saying, "Sorry for your sadness, LT" (which was particularly touching to me for whatever reason) and that he had appointments available tomorrow if I wanted to talk. Which...I don't know that he usually works on Sundays. I responded, thanking him, and saying that I'd see how I felt in the morning, if that was OK. He said just to let him know by 10:30 because he could see me at 11:30.

I feel pathetic being so touched by that...I mean, he's offering me a paid session...but still...on a Sunday of a holiday weekend. Plus something in the way he worded it. I don't know...

I just caught new cat drinking from my glass of diet Mountain Dew. Junior cat and I are fastening our seatbelts in expectation of a bumpy night.

ha! i'd expect so

my older cat is mad at me bc i was away for two days, and kitten has taken up all the cuddling space. i feel bad for my older cat, but there IS space for him to cuddle with me too, he just refuses when kitten is with me

i'm sorry about your argument with your H, and about your Uncle, LT. That is nice that your T responded so quickly, AND is working on a sunday! of a holiday weekend! and he worked Friday. I am impressed. My T doesn't really take vacations evverrrrr, so I know I am spoiled, but she does take off at all holidays, mainly bc her husband tells her to

Sounds like a difficult evening, LT, but I'm glad that T was able to provide the support you needed.

Complete non-sequiter, but I wanted to share an amusing moment from my session on Wednesday with V. She asked what my Thanksgiving plans are, and then I was moaning about going to the grocery store after the session.

"Yeah, Walmart was bad when I went earlier. It didn't help that I was looking for rice flour. I didn't know where it was!"
"What did you need rice flour for?"
"Well this year I'm taking a gluten free macaroni and cheese to dinner."

I'm very sorry to any of you who are gluten free, but that is not a world I am interested in living in. It's the gluten that makes pasta delicious!

i must agree with you, daisy

There are a bunch of asian rice noodle dishes that I find amazing and delicious. A couple I could eat every day.

But that's not what we celebrate at Christmas, any more than we honour Al Capone on St Valentine's Day.

The Holy Innocents have their own day. (Don't they?) And see my comments regarding Al Capone.

LT I would feel touched too. It is a lot to deal with and it's nice to see that he was able to be there for you.

Hugs. I'm sorry your dad is a mean jerk. You don't deserve this.

Last week I reported someone in our street for having a illegal goat. Today I just realised its the way he laughs. I am soo so embarrassed. Glad I dont walk the dog up that end..

((((LT))))

Funniest post of the year!

Next September I am going back to uni for another two years, to get my degree. It's required as part of the course that I have twenty hours a year of therapy with an accredited therapist.

T is not accredited. That's not as bad as it sounds, most therapists around here aren't. You can register with the national governing body and work ethically without accreditation - it's basically a special gold star that you can pay extra money and jump through some extra hoops to get.

But... Obviously this means I'm gonna have to stop seeing him, at least for those forty sessions. And find myself someone else. There aren't many to choose from that are within my budget... T(wat) is the cheapest accredited therapist in my city. I won't go back to him, of course, but I bet some stupid part of me will be tempted to.

I know it's ages away but I'm already kinda sad and anxious about this. Bah.

That's a heck of a dilemma, Luc.

I can appreciate why you're feeling that way. I hope that you are able to find a compromise between going back to prevT and the competency of T2. Hopefully there is somebody else who is accredited, and just as competent as T2.

(Maybe I'm being dim, but how do you work out the 20 hours equating to 40 sessions?)

*hugs*

You’ve missed the point of the discussion. Maybe you missed the beginning of it so you are not getting the context.

Thanks, Lost. I've looked up a couple that might work. Maybe it might be a useful experience for me to see a woman for a bit.

Or - I try to convince T to get accredited (unlikely, and embarrassing), or I try to convince my uni to bend the rules...?!

Twenty sessions a year, two years, so forty in total

Hehe...maths was never my strong point.

I'm glad your research is turning up useful leads.

Ugh, that sucks. Could you maybe keep seeing this T and just see him every other week, then whatever accredited T you find the other weeks? Or something like that? Or maybe see if your T will become accredited?

Maybe try talking to the university about it? Say you're already in therapy with someone and are working well with him and wondering if you can continue? Worth a shot at least! (maybe cite financial reasons plus location?)

Though you also have lots of time to test out other T's before the requirement would start.

Thanks for all the hugs and support

Sorry you're dealing with all this unpleasantness. How are you feeling today? Are you planning to go see (newly promoted) T today?