Have you ever wanted to make a mix tape for the therapist you hire?

Mix tapes are when you put songs that remind you of the person you are giving it to on a tape. Way back when, I used to record songs off the radio to make tapes for myself! lol.

Or songs you think the person would like.

It never occurred to me and I wouldn't do it. I have wondered whether my therapist liked a particular song I heard on the radio from when she was a teenager but it was only curiosity and wouldn't have had any effect on our therapy together (like, if she had said she didn't like that song it wouldn't have felt like it put any distance between us).

Music is like modern art, everybody sees something different in it. I suppose I can see how a mix tape would let someone else understand you better, but I think the message could get missed without a lot of explanation as to what each song means to you and why it's important.

I still make mix-tapes, except now they're actually mix-playlists on my iPod. Still a lot of the same tragic '80s music woven through them though.

Can't imagine making a mix-tape for T - he's more punk than New Romantic or electronic rock.

Yes, I have thought about it, but have not, and will not, simply because I know my T well enough to know she would not accept it.

However, songs I would include if I could (said tongue in cheek, of course):

Foreigner "Waiting for a Girl Like You"
NSync "Tearing Up My Heart"
Janet Jackson "If I Was Your Girl"
The Pointer Sisters "Dare Me"
Yellowcard "Only One"

I have thought about having her listen to playlists (the sad, weak, watered-down contemporary mix tape) I have made, either just as a background to a session or as a theme where we talk about the various songs. Never done it though. I think it could be a good session. Perhaps a session where we also look at pictures.

I like music very much and have been involved in making music as well for many years, on and off. I used to like using music/music videos to express myself to others, including one of my Ts. I usually just sent him links to songs sometimes in emails and he did not seem very interested, so I stopped doing it, what's the point. I would not make a mix tape though as my interest/taste in music is very dynamic, I don't even tend to listen to music I loved just a couple years ago even if I still appreciate their artistic quality. I do the music exchange with friends who are similarly into it and we have similar tastes but don't like to do it in a one-sided way long.

Gosh, I haven't had a mix tape for 30+ years. I didn't realise anyone still did this - or that it could even be done.

Anyway, on with the point of the thread. My answer was no because I don't find such a thing relevant. Besides, it is a little too personal. For me, I try to keep my relationship wth my mental healthcare providers as professional as possible. I think it is enough to simply tell your therapist what sorts of music affect and move you. Consider this; do you really think a therapist would take that sort of time to listen to it? I am not so sure they would.

No, i find music is a personal thing for me

I want to give her a CD or a Flash Drive with songs on it that make me think of her, or express the emotions that she causes in me

Never thought of making a mix tape but there are songs that I have thought that I would like my T to hear or would like to share with them based on the lyrics and how it helps explain my feelings towards them or therapy or my life situation accurately. I never have though. I find certain music and lyrics very emotive.

I haven’t made a mix tape but I’ve shared some music and lyrics with T that are meaningful for me. I don’t mind if she likes the music or not but music can convey feelings for me that I cannot verbalize myself. I want T to understand me, in whatever limited way she can..

I've often wanted to talk music with my T, and we've briefly chatted about it a couple of times. I want to share some songs with him, but I realize that most people won't see a set of lyrics or music the way that I do. We all experience songs differently and internally, so it seems like a waste of time to ask him to understand a song from my perspective.

I've also wanted to play, say, a 30-second clip of a song in session because the music and singing (not even necessarily the lyrics) seemed to exactly capture how I was feeling about something. But then I fear T would just look at me quizzically, like, "Uh, OK?" And not get the meaning I was going for.

My T will accept a metaphor gift or even an expenisve gift at a socially appropriate time like the holidays, but I really think he would be angry or dismissive or otherwise feel his sensibility offended for how seriously he takes therapy by a mixed tape I made for him. I love choral music and singing. It means a lot to me, but he even once said straight out and impatiently "it is not about some stupid song" when I tried to say how much the blending of voices meant to me. I wish he was friendly like that, and would listen to a mixed tape or make one for me,but he never would . The other thing is that both of us are gen x of the same age, and there is something a little romantic ala Say Anything about a mixed tape, and my T's wife has some kind of issue with him treating female patients or being preoccupied with female patients or something.

Nope. Never occurred to me. I’ve never given anything except their appointment fee.

Oh yeah. Once I sang a Melissa Etheridge song for t because it expressed so well some things. I was sooooo nervous and still can't believe I did it. (The song was "Precious Pain".)