[emeraldheart]

My T has recently asked me if I would like to come in for twice weekly sessions. I have severe PTSD and we are working through a lot of memories of past physical/sexual/emotional abuse.

After thinking about it, I have agreed to start coming in twice a week starting next week. To those who have more than one session a week, do you plan what topics to bring to session? Like session one is dedicated to these particular topics and session two would be for another particular set of topics?

[SalingerEsme]

Twice a week upped the intensity, but my T has an overall plan- a 4 stage trauma plan kind of- and we return to safety building if the topics cause immense distress, too many nightmares, or dissociation during the rest of the week. Therapy took over my life at 2x a week, whereas at once a week it was a little episodic, with one session not carrying over enough to the next one. Therapy has my full attention, for better and worse. It is really grueling mentally for me in the sense of it ruins my day sometimes but saves my life overall.

[SlumberKitty]

I don't have twice a week appointments on any sort of regular basis. With my former T, I think I had twice a week appointments twice. I didn't plan the sessions but then again, I don't really plan them with once a week. With my new T, I'm only having sessions every other week and its really hard to maintain any sort of connection or continuity but I've only seen her twice so I don't know if that is part of it. The two times I did have twice a week sessions it was because I was really traumatized at the time and really in a bad space. I don't think I had the ability to plan anyway, my head wasn't in a good space. I think though that you could try planning some topics for the first appointment and some topics for the second and see how it goes.

[LonesomeTonight]

I've been doing twice weekly for about 5 months now. I sometimes come in with something planned to talk about, written on an index card or, very occasionally, e-mailed in advance. But what I think I like the most about twice a week is that I feel OK if one session wanders way off from what I had intended to talk about, because I still have the other session that week. Before, I would sometimes feel like, "Oh no, I wasted that session, and now I have to wait another week." But now, there's less urgency (maybe that's not the right word). I feel more OK taking time to really explore things in a session and go off in a different (often helpful and insightful) direction without that sense of panic. I also find it easier to continue a topic from the previous session, because it's not like a whole week of my life has gone by. With weekly, particularly with my ex-T (less so with current T, even when we were once a week), I'd get caught up in recapping what happened the past week, and maybe discussing that, which would eat up a lot of session, so there was less continuity from session to session and less time to do deeper work.

I have therapy a couple times a week if we can fkt it in our schedules. I have DID and around 50+ alters, so we NEVER run out of things to talk about, there is always a long list of topics we could discuss. in fact, when we talk we do so for 3-5 hours at a time and its always hard to end for both of us because theres always more to be said but our schedules. are too demanding.
we dont have any particular agenda for each time. whatever comes up, comes up.

[skeksi]

I switched to twice weekly recently because we are working more intensively on trauma and memories. It has been hugely helpful. When I went once a week, I spent the beginning of each session gathering the strength and bravery to jump in again. Going more often, the sessions feel more connected and I am much more able to jump in and get to work—I just feel more secure.

We don’t have a set plan for each session, but we are trying a new approach that slows down my disclosures. In the past I would just blurt things out and get activated and be upset and we’d spend several sessions trying to restabilize me. Now I am sharing much less at a time, and I am more able to stay stable in and between sessions. We haven’t really gotten deep, yet, though.

[susannahsays]

There are two sessions with the therapist each week, but I don't always talk in both. Sometimes I let C yammer away, and only interject if she or the therapist say something to offend me. I don't really come with an agenda per se, although I sometimes have something to get off my chest with the therapist, or she'll want to reproach me for my behavior.

[starfishing]

Going twice weekly actually makes it feel even less important and necessary to plan topics in advance, since if there's something on my mind that doesn't get talked about for whatever reason, I have another chance that week to bring it up.

Personally I'd keep doing what you've been doing, just more often, and see how that goes.

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by skeksi

I switched to twice weekly recently because we are working more intensively on trauma and memories. It has been hugely helpful. When I went once a week, I spent the beginning of each session gathering the strength and bravery to jump in again. Going more often, the sessions feel more connected and I am much more able to jump in and get to work—I just feel more secure.

This, too--it also helps me with the security and the connection. So it's not like I feel that I have to spend time reestablishing that at the start of each session--may only just take a minute or two, while it used to take longer.

[ElectricManatee]

My experience of twice a week has been similar to what people describe above: more continuity between sessions, more depth, less recapping, less time spent getting comfortable and settling in with my T. I find that therapy is more intense and powerful this way, but it also consumes more emotional energy. I don't really plan for sessions more than I did before, but I tend to be able to explore whatever I do talk about more deeply.

[Lemoncake]

I started with twice a week sessions for the first 9 months then had to switch to one session because of my school schedule. I've been doing twice a week again since may and I really do prefer it. I feel more stable during the week but I did adapt to one session but felt less connected.