What Do You Wear to Therapy Appointments?

I read the intriguing thread started by SarahSweden about what our therapists wear...now I'm wondering what we wear to sessions. Pre-planned? Just anything? I've always wondered if anyone goes to therapy sessions in PJ's. I've been tempted to on occasion.

As for me, I do pre-plan what I'm going to wear, and I have to feel that I'm wearing clothes that are favorites and that are comfortable for me. So I'll say that I'm pretty picky about my own therapy attire

Whatever I happened to wear to work that day . . .

Now, yeah, what I wear to work, since I usually go after work. Summer, jeans and shirt.

Early on, I did my best to look put together for therapy so they wouldn’t think I felt worse than I did (or as bad as I did).

jeans or khaki pants and a long sleeve button down collar shirt and sneakers. Basically it is what I wear no matter what. I did not pre-plan.

I typically go to therapy after work these days, so I’ll usually be wearing dress pants and some sort of nicer shirt. If I don’t have work, I’ll just go casual. Maybe leggings and a hoodie, or every once in a while an outfit that requires more effort haha. I pretty much always wear makeup to therapy though. Also I think I’ve literally only worn my hair up to therapy like once in 3 years. I tend to always have my hair down and natural anyway, so that’s more just me and not really unique to therapy.

I'm lazy and often been wearing yoga pants and a tshirt to my sessions. Especially lately when nothing else seems to fit. Sometimes I'll wear jeans and shorts in the summer. I dont think T notices besides the few times he's commented on my shirts.. one is Deadpool riding a unicorn and the other says I'm allergic to stupid people, I break out in sarcasm.

I usually wear nice jeans and a cute shirt. I could never go out in public let alone to see a Doctor or T wear pajama pants or old ratty clothes.

And I legit will never wear a pair of shorts.. I actually had an outbreak of psoriasis on my leg recently I just wore stretchy jeans and pulled up the pant leg so my dermatologist could see.

I think it’s partially that my mom always insisted on looking neat but I also worked in medical my entire life and was shocked at what people would wear to see a doctor .. no I am not talking about people truly struggling or living on the street, I’m talking just lazy dirty people fresh food stains all down the front of them kinda stuff. I worked for a OB/GYN once... he was a wonderful doctor and had set up the restroom withmany options available for a woman to freshen up warmed bathing wipes etc if need be.. so many people honestly didn’t care or couldnt “smell “ themselves.

I have a small wardrobe of clothing by choice. The older worn clothes become things I wear around the house.

I think I’m just very old fashioned and my chosen career always being medical.

Anything and everything.



I've gone dressed up to wearing pajamas. (see him on skype mainly).

I do with current T but not much with others. Current T is pretty OCD about dirt and I live on a farm so I get paranoid. I wash my clothes and shower right before leaving so there isn’t any farm stuff on me. I think I am also more picky because he is my first male T. I don’t want to look like a total slob but don’t want to look too nice either.

Clothes that don't show too much cleavage. I never really wear those anyway, but especially when I was seeing a male T, I didn't want 1) to notice him looking, and 2) for him to think that I wanted him to see. Same for short shorts, short dresses.

Then again, there was a heat wave over here last summer. I found myself thinking a week ahead about what to wear, whether it would be appropriate or 'too obvious' (at that point, things had shifted and I totally wanted to look good to him). Then I did wear short shorts, a loose high top (it was only a crop top in that there was the smallest imaginable bit of bare skin, the shorts were very high, and also loose).
My friends said it would be fine, I wore that daily anyway when it was so hot outside. I personally thought it would be too much, but I very happily went along with it when they said there was nothing wrong with it.

When I saw the older T, I would definitely prevent showing too much skin/wearing too much tight clothing, for the same reasons. To me, it feels like a way to prevent a certain dynamic, and to remain a person and not become someone to see in a sexual way. (Apparently, in my mind, I cannot be these two things at the same time, I suppose that is something to work on).

Clothes lol

Nothing unusual

I usually made some effort to appear together, but nothing fancy or too revealing. A bit of eye makeup. Always clean but it can be any outfit I am in the mood for (and/or appropriate for the day's other activities) and sometime pre-planned - from very causal to formal. I do these things for most professional meetings except with colleagues I see everyday, including doctor visits, so therapy was nothing special in this regard. I would never wear PJs outside of my home.

Typically, when I felt so bad that I did not have the energy and ability to clean and dress up properly (exclusively related to drinking episodes in my case), I rather just canceled than showing up as a mess. Maybe not the best for therapy as I was often clearly hiding my biggest problem. When I "only" have some depressed or anxious mood but sober, I can usually still get together properly as those moods alone are never too severe for me. In those cases, it usually helps quite a bit to make the effort to get clean and wear decent clothes, it can help me change the mood quite a bit, and I did that in therapy as well as just in everyday life. So self-neglect and sloppiness, for me, was quite intimately associated with alcoholism, nothing else really.

My second T once commented that I dressed in interesting ways and had obviously very good self-care - I clearly managed to fool him in a sense that he only saw a fraction of the truth. So I do believe that whatever someone is wearing, their grooming etc can reflect their mental health, but not in the same way for everyone. Some people are just naturally not interested in their appearance and clothing and can still have very good mental health.

Baggy clothes and comfortable. I have a lot of body issues so I want to cover up and be as co.fy as possible since I feel so awkward in session.

I work from home, so I tend to be fairly casual--jeans (or shorts) and a casual top, with fashion sneakers (like Keds or Skechers). Like SoAn, I try to avoid too much cleavage or anything too revealing, as I also have a (heterosexual) male T. My T *does* pay attention to my clothes and will sometimes make a comment about them. Like last summer, I mostly wore sleeveless stuff, so a few times when I was wearing a short-sleeved top or dress, he'd be like, "You're wearing sleeves today!" He has complimented a couple tops (not in a creepy way--like "That's a nice shirt"). He's commented on my shoes before, like, "Wow, I've never seen shoes like that" when I first wore my burgundy polka-dot Keds. And the first two times I wore distressed jeans, he said something like, "Things so bad you have holes in your jeans?" so I avoided wearing those for a while because I didn't feel like his commenting (well, the second time I was in a pretty bad place, so I just said, "Yes, actually!") So I do pay attention to what I wear, as I know he'll notice.


On a side note, we once had a conversation where he said he's very careful in commenting on clients' appearance, particularly females. Like he'll tread very carefully and see how they respond before doing that again. I said I was completely fine with it, that it makes me feel like he really "sees" me and is paying attention. And we have the sort of relationship where we joke around some and tease each other a bit--I doubt he'd do that with a brand new client or one who's in a really bad place at the time. I think he also uses it to try to relax me if I seem anxious when I first sit down or else lighten the mood at times.

Also, I do wear a bit of makeup--foundation, some blush (I'm really pale, so look kind of sickly without it), and lipstick in a mauve or nude shade. I've learned not to wear eye makeup because of my tendency to cry in therapy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Christina ...And I legit will never wear a pair of shorts.. I actually had an outbreak of psoriasis on my leg recently I just wore stretchy jeans and pulled up the pant leg so my dermatologist could see.

What is it about shorts?! Even when I was thin I would never wear shorts outside my home. And I certainly won't wear them now. I feel way too exposed in shprts.

Reading about LonesomeTonight's therapist's comments on her clothes, that reminds me - my T only once commented on my clothes, which was when I was wearing a sweater while it was quite warm outside ("Aren't you feeling warm in that sweater?"). This is typical for me, since I don't always pay attention to what the weather is and sometimes end up wearing weather-inappropriate clothing. Otherwise, he just commented once when I had a scab on my leg when I was wearing shorts, but never anything clothes-related. I was happy with that, I think I would have felt uncomfortable otherwise. The sweater comment already got me interpreting it as if it meant he would like to see more skin. Writing this down now, I realise that it really can go either way, and doesn't have to mean anything like that at all. But that is how I interpret such comments automatically. Hopefully can get over this a little at some point and walk around deep-cleavaged and worry-free lol.

With Pastor T and Regular T I am going to my appointments after work, so whatever I wore to work that day. I am usually in khakis or jeans at work, and a sweater or a long sleeved shirt. Today I am wearing a sweatshirt and a pair of khakis and vans shoes. It is what I will wear tonight when I see Pastor T. I didn't really think about what I was wearing for therapy, just what i was wearing for work. My work is pretty casual so I am never dressed up for therapy.

A hair shirt, soot and ash.

No, just whatever I'm wearing that day as long as it is clean and presentable. I do have a tendency to dress up the more depressed I am. Clothes can be like armor. When I present a polished appearance I'm less vulnerable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nammu A hair shirt, soot and ash. No, just whatever I'm wearing that day as long as it is clean and presentable. I do have a tendency to dress up the more depressed I am. Clothes can be like armor. When I present a polished appearance I'm less vulnerable. I'm glad you've pointed that out.

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My work uniform now that i go straight from work to therapy. Before when i had a chance to change, it was comfy clothes: shorts/t-shirt in summer, sweatpants/shirt in winter.

Whatever makes sense for the other things I'm doing that day, but usually jeans and a sweater. The only thing that's specifically for therapy is I wear shoes that are quick to take off and put on, because I lie on the couch.

I go directly from work so typically desserts pants or kayak style with a dressy shirt or sweater. Usually with some time of sleep on shoes or clogs. In the winter I also wear a lot of the fashion boots. I also wear a lot of dresses/shirts with ballet flats or heals.

In the rare occasion that I have the day off work, I might wear Jean's and a blouse. I almost never wear sneakers to therapy or in my every day life. I have worn them a couple of times to see EMDR T because I didnt work before hand and decided to go on a nice long walk before my appointment or on a couple of occasions we planned to go for a walk during my appointment.

Even though I do not work the day I see pdoc, I tend to dress up to some degree. First that is how I am the most comfortable and I know They asses a clients appearance and I don't want them to know based on my clothes.

I never wore anything in particular to therapy. I never cared. Whatever shirt and pants that were on top in the dresser-like I do everyday. I never wore PJ’s to therapy though.

Clean/not grungy underwear because my mum taught me that you never know when you might have to go to the hospital.

😂

What I wear over my underwear is random. I usually like to have a sweatshirt or scarf that I can hang on to though. My T has seen me in the hall when I first wake up, on school camping trips, and canoeing/swimming/climbing trips so he's seen it all.

My mom never taught me, unfortunately. I've learned most personal hygiene on my own. Or anywhere to reveal those things. Including personal grooming. Anyone wants to start a thread about personal grooming, how it relates to therapy or just in general?