[rainbow8]

I know we had a thread about this not too long ago. My T and I were discussing our relationship and she used the word "patient". I said "patient" not "client"? She told me she uses "patient" now because she read that "client" sounds too business like whereas "patient" sounds like you are caring for someone. Hmm. She's a social worker, not a doctor but I agree that client sounds business like. Which term do you like better?

It was a crummy conversation about her being my T and a professional, even though she said nothing changed. I still have trouble accepting the reality.

[CantExplain]

Patient.

[stopdog]

Client. I despise patient. To me it does not sound more caring - it sounds more patronizing.

[WarmFuzzySocks]

I may be feeling crotchety tonight, but I believe that it would be most courteous to ask the client/patient which they prefer to be called.

Kind of like asking someone about their name: "Do you prefer to be called John or Mr. Smith?"

While it's likely difficult to remember who prefers which, it just feels like common courtesy to at least try to respect what an individual prefers to be called.

[captgut]

"Patient" sounds more caring to me. And patronizing, too. "Client" sounds too business and too cold to me.
I guess my inner child wants T to be my "parent", not my "business partner".

Also he's a doctor... So I guess I'm a patient.

[ShadowGX]

Client, definitely client. I work in home health care and we always call the people we care for "clients". "Patient" is reserved for people in a hospital, sometimes nursing homes. Assisted living and nursing home folks get "resident". Being in a field where the terminology is set that way I feel strongly that "client" much better suits a 1 on 1 relationship with someone you're caring for.

T uses client. Having confusions about life doesn't make you a patient.

[MoxieDoxie]

Never heard him call me either but lately I feel like his patient. When I am more emotionally resilient and in a part that feels we do not need him I feel like a client just paying for a service.

[ElectricManatee]

I definitely prefer client. Patient is too medicalized and implies a certain power dynamic that isn't there for me in therapy. I will never strip down and put on a paper gown for my T. I expect her to see me as the expert in my life and for her to be the expert in psychology that I have indeed hired to provide a particular professional service. Fortunately, my T agrees and prefers client too.

[BizzyBee]

Mine uses patient. His reasoning is that it means "to suffer with" as he wants to be with his patients in their pain.

[AllHeart]

Client. I hire my t to help me, not to take care of me similar to that of a patient. I mean, t isn't nursing me back to health. I think client if more business like. therapy is a business (we're working together) but it doesn't mean a t can't genuinely care about someone who hires them. I also think patient sounds like there is obligatory care attached to it.

[Fuzzybear]

Client. Patient sounds more patronising to me. And not necessarily more caring.

[TeaVicar?]

I'm not keen on either. I think the word 'patient' implies a sort of powerless dependency... which seems to be the opposite of what therapy is *supposed to be* about. It also sets a greater power imbalance. 'Client' sounds a bit cold but maybe it's better suited, I don't know.

[starfishing]

I have a slight preference for patient, which is what my therapist uses. I don't think patient necessarily means powerlessness or any other problematic power dynamic, and I'm not keen on the way client makes it sound like just another business relationship. It's not just another businesslike dynamic for me, it's a vulnerable relationship where I am seeking a kind of care--collaborative care that I direct, but still care--to help lessen suffering.

[mindmechanic]

The therapist and I use patient. For me, patient sounds less business-like and cold. I don't know the therapist's choice of patient over client. Patient is usually used in the psychoanalytic setting, and that's her background.

[downandlonely]

I haven't really thought about that.

[MoxieDoxie]

There is another thread that posted an Article and the Title even has client in it.

https://forums.psychcentral.com/psyc...et-better.html

[HALLIEBETH87]

We say client usually at work but the new trendy term is actually "consumer." I hate that word so I don't use it!

[velcro003]

Originally Posted by HALLIEBETH87

We say client usually at work but the new trendy term is actually "consumer." I hate that word so I don't use it!

eww gross! I would HATE it if my T started calling her clients, "consumers." NO thanks! My T uses the word client, which I prefer over patient. Patients = Hospital to me, and I am deathly terrified of hospitals.

[stopdog]

I don't mind consumer

[unaluna]

Idk i think consumer sounds patriarchal. Consumer and provider of services. There is a power edge to it, a nastiness.

[Jazz1971]

We always use "client" where I work and I think that's most common. A therapist does not provide medical care, which "patient" implies, so its not really accurate. I think it's also a bit inflated of a therapist to use "patient". A psychiatrist sure, but not a therapist.

[OliverB]

Where I live I have never heard the word "client".

[Amyjay]

I detest "patient". I am not my therapists patient. I am a client.

[rainbow8]

Thanks for all the responses.