I have been thinking about this for 6 months and might just decide on nothing because it is causing too much anxiety! But thought i would put feelers out to see what gifts people have gotten.

[Elio]

mostly things that somehow related back to me/my therapy. Books, puzzle, RC car, thinking putty, special spices for an ethnic meal from a place I was vacationing, card game, greeting(thank you) cards

therapists have different takes on accepting gifts, I'd check in with your T if you haven't already done so to see what their policy is around accepting gifts

ETA: now I'm a bit puzzled for when typical gift giving times come up on how she'll feel if this year I don't give her something. She always says it's ok either way. Still I somehow feel like I'm going to hurt her feelings if I don't gift her something when in previous years I have.

[InnerPeace111]

I haven’t given my T even one gift in the entire time I’ve been working with her for a lot of reasons - it’s too anxiety provoking for me, it's a service I already pay for, there’s always the chance a gift will not be accepted, I don’t care to get into a possible discussion with my T about the meaning behind the gift or why it’s important to me to feel the need to give a gift, etc.

Instead, I handle this by making or buying a small gift for myself that reminds me of our work together or how far I’ve come since I started therapy. This solves all of the problems for me and it’s not something I even need to discuss with my T. I feel like it also keeps my therapy neat and clean...uncluttered, so to speak. I understand, though, that my way isn’t going to appeal to everyone and that’s okay!

[88Butterfly88]

I have usually just gotten my ts candles. I think something for their office would be good too. Try not to stress too much, I'm sure your t will appreciate any gift you give her/him.

[susannahsays]

C got the previous therapist "The Emotionary" by Eden Sher. It's a fun book and very relatable. To me, anyway.

[LonesomeTonight]

I brought a small shell I found at the beach, but it was something I added to a display in his office, didn't really give it to *him*.

[Lemoncake]

I see my T online mainly but I bring him cake whenever I see him back in london.

my therapist and i exchange birthday presents and christmas presents. we like to fill bags up with little things we find that remind us of the other. we live far away (different countries ) so the gifts are a kind way of saying we were thinking of each other when far apart. given her shells, pressed flowers, rocks from places i travelled, she likes it when i make things. when she visits she loves it when i make her breads and cakes.

I brought in some gingerbread one time, that my brother had sent me from Germany and we shared it.

[nottrustin]

Wth T I use to give her a gift card to her favorite restaurant whixh hapened to be mine as well. We had worked together for s few years before I did that. I never handed them to her in person. i sent them in a card. The first tume she said she shouldn't accept it but because she understood where it was coming from, she said she would and said thank you. I never had to explain

I have yet to give Emdr T anything other than a card. i did hand it to her in my appointment and she read it.

[ScarletPimpernel]

I've given T and L a bunch of gifts: flowers, stones, scarves I made, survival kits, books, other things I've crafted, a necklace, etc. Everything was pretty inexpensive. I think the most expensive was a book I gave to L. It was $15.

[velcro003]

I was going to make a handmade card with some art I created for my T, but never did. I even asked her favorite colors, but depression won.

[Spirit of Trees]

I got my current T a Xmas card and drew some drawings inside it. I also gave her some handwarmers once. My gift-giving was fine for my T and she hasn't asked me to 'explain' anything.

[kaleidoscopeheart]

I have not gotten him anything but T has a mug on display that he recieved as a gift from a client... it says "World's Okayest Therapist". It's amazing.

[autonoe]

I got my former therapist a couple of gifts. She seemed touched by them, but in the end was horrible to me, and I wonder sometimes if she still has those gifts on display like she did when I was still a client. I've never given my current therapist anything for this very reason. It's too confusing for me in terms of boundaries. But when the time comes for me to stop seeing him, I will probably give him something at the end.

[susannahsays]

I gave the therapist a dog-friendly Thanksgiving dinner for her dog. He really enjoyed it. The downside was the therapist kept bringing it up for months as evidence of all sorts of stuff about me that's not true. I'm not a nice person even deep down. Probably especially not deep down.

Originally Posted by susannahsays

I gave the therapist a dog-friendly Thanksgiving dinner for her dog. He really enjoyed it. The downside was the therapist kept bringing it up for months as evidence of all sorts of stuff about me that's not true. I'm not a nice person even deep down. Probably especially not deep down.

I’ve never given my therapist anything.

Susannahsays - I don’t believe in nice (good) people. Or bad people. There are good and bad parts in all of us.

[susannahsays]

The therapist has infiltrated in the guise of Purple Mirror.