Does or has the therapist you hire ask(ed) if you want extra support?

Does the therapist ask if you want extra support? Have they ever done so?

No, I've never really had a therapist who asked that. Right now I just do group therapy every other week, but I go to a support group every week. If you need more support, you might try looking into a support group.

My T asked me whether I wanted to come for extra sessions after . I did not ask for them or need to ask for any. Normally I need to ask myself first, but then will always get extra time.

No. She didn't ask. She suggested a couple times.

No, I have never had a therapist that asked that but there were times I wish they had.

She’s never asked, but has nonchalantly let me know she could be available when she normally wouldn’t be (as in, she could meet me on a day she’s usually out of office). When I asked later why she offerend she said it seemed that I needed extra support, so she availed herself. This was early on. Now I don’t hesitate to ask if I need her.

I went with other. T often tells me that I can call her if I need her which is an offer of extra support. Never had her outright ask if I wanted extra support though. Once I did ask her for extra support by way of an extra session and she got me in right away.

My ex-t did ask directly if I wanted extra support many times. Most times I didn't need it but took it so not to hurt her feelings or offend her in any way. So I prefer knowing the offer of extra support is available to me if I want it without feeling obligated to take it.

Depends on what you consider "extra support." When I mentioned to my T how I'd been used to seeing him (or ex-T) plus MC every week and now was just seeing MC every few weeks or so (now terminated), T was like, "Oh, so you've basically cut your total weekly therapy sessions in half?" I said yes. He asked if I wanted to see him twice a week (had been weekly), and I agreed, at least for now. I wouldn't have thought it would be OK to ask for that (based on ex-T/MC and what I've read on here) had he not offered.

I voted no. My T has never suggested, offered, or asked. I do well with weekly sessions and could probably move to every other week at this point.

She hasn't offered extra support as such in terms of when I may have needed it.

But, she's been texting me regular check-ins (literally "Checking in" and I'll reply with an "All well" or similar stuff) when she's gone on vacation / over the holidays etc.

And, the time or two that the weather was messed up or I was in a bit of a mess and needed an extra session, she's made herself available (usually by phone, which I've declined to make use of).

My T would occasionally remind me that I could email, or would say that even though he would be away for a few days, if I needed it we could have a short phone call. It happened a handful of times in 3 years and it was funny, when he offered it, just the fact that he was making himself available was like balm enough that I didn't need to contact him at all. I just felt he was there with me in spirit, somehow. So yes, I found that helpful.

My T has reminded me that I can text him if I need to do so a few times, when he knew I was having a difficult time or might have a difficult time. Otherwise, I know I am allowed to text him and he consistently replies. I find this to be very helpful in between sessions but don't do it as much as I used to (I think).

No, I have reached out it they are there. They have both always said if I need anything to call but have not asked if I needed them to reach out. Once T did contact me to check in because she knew I was getting some medical info bit that was the only time.

She's never explicitly asked if I needed any extra support, but I have e-mailed or called when I did, and she has offered it at my asking.

I mis-voted no, but I asked and they complied. Then I remembered after reading other replies here that she has sometimes said it's okay to email if I need to, so I guess that's asking if I want support, but I'm not sure. For the most part, I'm the one asking and the answer is usually, but not always, yes.

Okay, now I'm remembering other things she's offered that could be considered support. So maybe it's half and half.

I voted other. For my first surgery, I wanted to ask but didn't. In post op, I had a meltdown and asked to see if she was on call and to page her if she was. At the time she worked at the clinic associated with where my surgery was. She was not on call so they did not page her. They did offer to page the pDoc that was on call. I said no. When we talked about it later, she said she'd been debating on asking/offering but wasn't sure. When it came time for my second surgery, we kind of approached it with an understanding that there would be extra support. I do think I asked. With the 3rd and 4th surgeries, I directly asked. The 5th surgery, I didn't ask, she didn't offer. It was on a night I knew she had other responsibilities. We did email several times after each surgery. I still initiated the emails.

Several months ago we'd been talking about my struggling and she brought up the concept of me seeing her more times a week. It wasn't a direct offer but more of a general discussion of a possibility.

And now that I think about it, T also has said a few times that even though he'd be out of town over the weekend or during a particular week, he'd still be checking e-mail periodically if I was struggling. And one time specifically, he said (in response to a Friday e-mail) that if it was a crisis, I could e-mail, and he'd write back that Saturday night, even though he'd be out of town. I see those as offering without me asking for something.

Yes he would ask if i would like him to call me later that evening

I suppose I should say yes because I can email. But the fact that she no longer lets me come in for extra sessions frustrates me. I can be doing so poorly that she's willing to call my pdoc and willing to contact my workplace about reasonable accommodations, but I cannot come in more than 1x a week. Venting here because this is a sore spot just now.

Yes. She has actually spent a lot of time trying to encourage me to increase the support I ask for. She will offer to talk on the phone if we have to miss a session and sometimes even if we don't. She leaves it to me to actually initiate that though (even if we schedule it ahead of time). That is, I'm sure, related to the goal of me learning that it's okay to ask to have my needs met.

Yes, she has asked and I appreciate it. I don't always take her up on it but I find it comforting that she is there if I need her

She has recently offered scheduled check ins via phone under certain conditions, but as am alternative to what I was requesting.

If our sessions are more spaced out than usual, she has said I can call the clinic and ask them to relay to her. Then she'll call back when she has some time.

Yes, mine recently saw me for an extra session even though she was on her break. She also lets me know I can contact her if I need to when she's away, as long as she's still in the city. She knows I never will (because I told her!) but I can tell she's trying to get me to learn to accept that I have needs and that it's ok to have them fulfilled. I find it hard to accept the extra support, but I appreciate it and it helps me feel like she cares.

The clinic I see her in doesn't really allow most types of outside support (texting, hospital visits, etc) but one time I was going through an extremely rough time and she gave me an emergency session -- which means a lot, as she is always backed up with clients -- by coming in an hour early just for me. After that session she told me if I needed to come see her again before my next scheduled appointment, I could call and she would make time for me. (I never did.)

That's the only type of extra support I can think of.