[Fuzzybear]

Does your therapist have toys, stuffies etc in their office? Is playing ever part of your therapy?

Are your “child parts” allowed to express themselves without judgment?

Do you think that a “good enough” therapist is ever judgmental? (Harsh judgment I’m meaning, not “constructive feedback”)

(Sorry about all the questions )



PS a female therapist I consulted mentioned “breast feeding” - I didn’t trust her though and I’m not sure what she meant..

[Lemoncake]

I too am confused with the term breast feeding in therapy.

My T's office is empty apart from two chairs and a desk. I've brought my own stuff and he's never said anything, nothing big though. I've fussed about with lego, a bear/ ikea dog or a stress ball. I like having something in my hands.

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by Lemoncake

I too am confused with the term breast feeding in therapy.

My T's office is empty apart from two chairs and a desk. I've brought my own stuff and he's never said anything, nothing big though. I've fussed about with lego, a bear/ ikea dog or a stress ball. I like having something in my hands.

I used to bring a stuffie sort of thing in..(with the male t who turned very mean ). With the female t I didn’t bring anything in and she didn’t suggest it .. Maybe if I’d brought a bear or something in, we might have “bonded” a bit, or maybe not..

[DP_2017]

He has some but they are for the younger clients he says. I've never asked to use any, no reason to.

[Elio]

Yes, I play a fair amount. I bring in the toys, though T has allowed color pencils and crayons to stay at her office and the 2 puzzle's we've put together are in her office together. I've commented on her office needing to have toys. I also bring in picture books; lots of picture books. Most of the picture books are themed around a topic or issue I am processing through.

My T is non-judgmental about my toys or blanket. It is very important that she be non-judgmental about these things as I struggle with playing in general - relaxing to the point that I can joke around, be silly, not be self conscious about my body and how I move in space. She shows me excitement around play.

I think it has been and is something that is very useful for my process. I have lots of maternal transference and while my T provides me with experiences that are in some ways re-parenting, at no point does she pretend to be my mommy. She is always T. At times, the feelings and experiences I have through these activities touch a part of me that missed out on or still yearns for from my mommy. These moments help provide a foundation that I can build on and grow from. We spend a lot of time in adult space talking about the how, what, why's of the experiences as I come to understand them and assimilate both the loss of not having received them in the past and gain in feelings from now receiving them (in general and in terms of receiving them from T).

[Fuzzybear]

Thanks for sharing

Originally Posted by Elio

Yes, I play a fair amount. I bring in the toys, though T has allowed color pencils and crayons to stay at her office and the 2 puzzle's we've put together are in her office together. I've commented on her office needing to have toys. I also bring in picture books; lots of picture books. Most of the picture books are themed around a topic or issue I am processing through.

My T is non-judgmental about my toys or blanket. It is very important that she be non-judgmental about these things as I struggle with playing in general - relaxing to the point that I can joke around, be silly, not be self conscious about my body and how I move in space. She shows me excitement around play.

I think it has been and is something that is very useful for my process. I have lots of maternal transference and while my T provides me with experiences that are in some ways re-parenting, at no point does she pretend to be my mommy. She is always T. At times, the feelings and experiences I have through these activities touch a part of me that missed out on or still yearns for from my mommy. These moments help provide a foundation that I can build on and grow from. We spend a lot of time in adult space talking about the how, what, why's of the experiences as I come to understand them and assimilate both the loss of not having received them in the past and gain in feelings from now receiving them (in general and in terms of receiving them from T).

[ChickenNoodleSoup]

My T doesn't have any toys in his office (or anything else that a client could hold, play with or anything like that for that matter). But I bring my own stuffed animal with me, a small ice bear. Sometimes he just sits in my bag, sometimes I hold him the whole time. I use it more to calm myself down than to play. I'm not really a playful person overall.

My T never said anything about it. I would not like it if I were judged for this, although I did worry my T would judge me when I first started bringing the bear to sessions. It's a useful way to calm myself down, and I think my T knows that and doesn't mind. I'm allowed to express whatever I want in whichever way I want (as long as I don't hurt my T or myself of course).

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by ChickenNoodleSoup

My T doesn't have any toys in his office (or anything else that a client could hold, play with or anything like that for that matter). But I bring my own stuffed animal with me, a small ice bear. Sometimes he just sits in my bag, sometimes I hold him the whole time. I use it more to calm myself down than to play. I'm not really a playful person overall.

My T never said anything about it. I would not like it if I were judged for this, although I did worry my T would judge me when I first started bringing the bear to sessions. It's a useful way to calm myself down, and I think my T knows that and doesn't mind. I'm allowed to express whatever I want in whichever way I want (as long as I don't hurt my T or myself of course).

Thanks for sharing.. yeah, I can’t understand why being judged would be helpful either

My t has 2 teddy bears sitting on the couch and she's certified in sand play so has 2 big shelves full of miniature everything for use in the sand. And she has play dough. Maybe other stuff I dunno.

[imnotbroken]

Nope, only board games, but those are for younger clients.

[lilypeppermint]

Private T has toys in his office as we discussed on another thread, which I suspect may have inspired this question

I can play with them if I want. My T wouldn’t have a problem with that. I sometimes seem to feel like it’s not ok, though. Sometimes I’ve sat there wanting to but not (some regressive thing going on). Other times I’ve put them on my T or asked him to hold them

No judgement from T. I don’t think a good-enough therapist should ever be harsh and if they are they need to recognise it and figure it out and repair the situation.

No idea on the last part sorry!

[velcro003]

My T shares an office, and all the stuff in it is the other T’s. She does have toys and stuffed animals and knick knacks all over the place. I thought she worked mainly with children, but she doesn’t. I probably could pick up something that interested me, but i wouldn’t. The pillow works fine.

[LabRat27]

My T doesn't have any toys but I always have my fidget toy in my purse and I almost always play with it during the session. (I have a tangle toy that I play with so I can fidget quietly—it's not just for therapy).
It's actually not his office space during the day. He only practices in the evenings so it's another T's office during the morning/day. Idk if he would have toys if he set it up.

I think a good therapist should make every effort not to judge, but they're human. If they do judge, they should attempt not to show it. If it shows, they should be willing to talk it through with the client/patient.

I have no clue what breastfeeding means in this context? Like bringing an infant in to the session?

[toomanycats]

I have a little lizard that I bring with me to therapy. I take it out and fidget with it often.

It's also now one of my daughter's favorite comfort objects. She asks for it all the time when we're out and about or if something scary has just happened (when we were hit by a bike and she fell too and was all scraped up, she asked for it)

[stopdog]

I have never hired a therapist who also saw children. I interviewed one who had a lot of teddy bears in her office, but other than that, there were no toys in the office of the therapist I saw more than once. I would not play with a therapist.

[Mike_J]

She doesn't have toys but I brought in a box of Legos one day

[InnerPeace111]

My T does not have any toys or stuffed animals in her office. Play is not a part of my therapy and I don’t have any interest in playing while talking. However, I do like something to fidget with so I usually turn to something I have on or with me - a necklace, a bracelet, a pen (for my journal), my phone, etc.

[WarmFuzzySocks]

My therapist and her partner work with children and families, so there are toys in the waiting area and in one room. I don’t play with toys as a part of my therapy, but I do pick up the Perplexus ball once in a while as I am waiting.

Harsh judgment doesn’t belong in a therapeutic relationship, or in most relationships, really.

The only time my therapist has ever mentioned breastfeeding is the time the previous client walked out of session nursing her baby and we reminisced a bit about how peaceful it is being around a nursing infant. But that was very context-specific.

[AllHeart]

No toys. I noticed she had a couple of teddy bears on a chair once. She does have a glittery wand on her table that I will sometimes grab to fidget with. I have no desire to play with toys with her unless fisher price little people made in the 70’s, legos, or Lincoln logs are involved. Possibly Weebles.

I have DID. my therapist has spent a lot of time playing with toys with the young inside kids,

[precaryous]

Oh, yes. I’ve brought in a few stuffed animals to give my hands something to do while I talked..or to hug if I feel I need that. I brought in a few of different sizes and I like the large elephant I bought at IKEA the best.

A psychiatrist I had CBT with had an office full of odds and ends to distract the patient. Everything from wire toys to beads to worry stones to scarves, to puzzles. She also had numerous different style chairs (huge office) to choose to sit in.

[lilypeppermint]

I feel a bit sad reading the posts saying things are for younger clients. Who says you aren’t allowed to touch them?

[Wonderfalls]

My therapist was a child/adolescent guy so in his old office he kept a few ratty toys that I would hold. I gave him a slinky for new office present and I was surprised when he told me one of the children had destroyed the pretty bow on top of it. I didn't even consider he would think of it as a client toy, though I had no problem with that. I think I felt flattered. I wondered if he let them play with the small metal model plane I gave him, but never asked.

Originally Posted by Fuzzybear

Does your therapist have toys, stuffies etc in their office? Is playing ever part of your therapy?

Are your “child parts” allowed to express themselves without judgment?

Do you think that a “good enough” therapist is ever judgmental? (Harsh judgment I’m meaning, not “constructive feedback”)

(Sorry about all the questions )



PS a female therapist I consulted mentioned “breast feeding” - I didn’t trust her though and I’m not sure what she meant..

My t mentioned once that she wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't breastfed as a baby. I'm pretty sure I wasn't cuz I know my siblings weren't, i remember lots of baby bottles when they were babies and I fed them a lot and all the pictures I've seen babies are being fed bottles. That was the only time it ever came up.