[mogwai]

Just wondering what kind of personally made things people have given. Like what did you say in the card? What did you draw/paint for them? When have you given them - at termination or just randomly?

I want to give my therapist something small and tangible to show much how I appreciate her but I feel silly like it's "too much" or she'll think I'm too attached. But I feel like a child wanting to show a parent something I've made. Or maybe a pretty rock, shell or something.

[ScarletPimpernel]

I have given my T lots of gifts. When she was going through something, I gave her flowers. Last year I learned how to make infinity scarves, so I made her two. When we "terminated" frequent sessions, I gave her a ton of gifts: two quartz flash rocks (glow when you strike them together), an agate slice, a pin of a flower make with beads, a fairy house made from a birdhouse, a survival kit (i.e. Marbles: When you feel like you lost all yours), a painted glass butterfly pendent, a metal embossed tree of life, and a crocheted flower.

I like giving my T gifts. Yes it feels childish (at least to me it does), but my desire to give her the gifts outweighs the embarrassment. I love that she accepts them. She of course doesn't want anything too big or too expensive. Most of my stuff is cheap. I just like doing things for her and showing her my appreciation. You don't get to do that a lot in a one-sided relationship.

[nottrustin]

I gave T random home baked goods, does that count. I knew she was joy a cook or baker but she loved homemade things...I also made her homemade lasagna once. I made a double batch for my family. I knew it was one of her favorite we meals so I brought her in some. She loved it.

[seeker33]

I only have online therapy so I can't give her physical objects but I've sent her a picture of a tree in Blossom and birds and also a postcard. She sent me a postcard from her holiday too!

[lucozader]

I embroidered a tree for him.

[WishfulThinker66]

People might accuse me of trasference but I am firm it wasn't the case.

My psychiatrist asked to see my art work and thus when I showed it to him he experssed he thought it was lovely; a picture of a cougar's face in particular. There is something in the picture that seems to click. It is the eyes. They seem to look at you in a way that is comforting. So I brought the painting with me on the next visit and it now hangs on his wall. He has said a lot of his patients comment on it. We agreed that it was not a gift but a loan.

My psychologist has a bald eagle feather I gave her. Again, I don't think this was about transference so much. Her office is full of spiritual objects and rather granola eating in an Earth centered way. I felt then this feather was something that would suit her and be meaningful. I asked that she add this to her office collection and I have since noticed she has placed it with a smudge bowl. This pleases me as she obviously understands the significance of such an object. My gift then was not just to her but to all of her clients. Not sure I can explain this better.

Maybe this is transference afterall. It certainly doesn't feel that way though.

[LonesomeTonight]

I added a small shell I found at the beach to a sand tray in his office. I thought of it more as a gift to the therapy space rather than him. He was fine with it (and had said before that many of the items in his office are from clients). It's oddly comforting for me to see it sitting there in the office.

[stopdog]

No. I had no desire to give the woman anything. When I quit, I just told her I wasn't coming back as I walked out the door. It was not a big to do or anything.

[DP_2017]

Yes I drew him something and gave him a holiday card

[coolibrarian]

I gave her two of my poems, framed, a long time ago, and I gave her a copy of my first book, which was published last year. I've also given her baked goods.

[SlumberKitty]

Yes. I made former T a handmade card every Christmas and every time she went on vacation. I also made her two scarves. And when she got MS, I made her a blanket.

[piggy momma]

Thirteen years ago my T babysat my dog for a week so i could go to Vancouver to get my new puppy. My T has an African Grey Parrot as well. I went on a bird site and picked out some African Grey presents for him. One was quite big that he would have take home, but the small parrot magnet still sits on the fridge in his office today.

[Ididitmyway]

I never had a desire to give a T something personal. I gift personal items to people I have personal relationships with and I never wanted to see my relationships with my Ts as personal, especially when I experienced intense transference. I, probably, would have given a small gift to a T if I any of my therapies came to a point of natural completion where a T and I would've mutually decided that the work was done and would've parted on good terms, but that was never the case.

[coolibrarian]

Originally Posted by piggy momma

Thirteen years ago my T babysat my dog for a week so i could go to Vancouver to get my new puppy.

Your T took care of your dog? Whose idea was that? I'm sorry, but it seems to me that this could have blown up in your faces, for instance, if your dog had gotten sick while you were away. Not judging, just feeling a little upset.

[piggy momma]

Originally Posted by coolibrarian

Your T took care of your dog? Whose idea was that? I'm sorry, but it seems to me that this could have blown up in your faces, for instance, if your dog had gotten sick while you were away. Not judging, just feeling a little upset.

I gave him really thorough instructions in case the dog got sick or anything happened. I also told him to do what he would do if it was his dog. I wasn't worried about anything like that. Everybody was fine

[BonnieJean]

Hand made cards over the years. A handmade book mark. A flower. That's what I remember. All accepted and talked about.