Scheduling

For some reason my new therapist won’t give a time slot that is yours every week. She will just schedule a few weeks out and then it is a free for all. So now she is booked next and on her cancellation list. I am not used to this. Why won’t she give you a set slot? I made sure to schedule three more appointments but am still pissed about next week.

I would be really bothered, too. Not so much about not having a set time (I am a student with a really flexible schedule), but that the therapist did not hold to seeing me on a regular schedule in terms of sessions per week. Before COVID, I did not have a set time. However, my therapist never forgot me and that I would need a couple slots. Sometimes, she would say her schedule was getting full and she had saved a couple times for me that she hoped would work - and they were always times that my appointments were often scheduled. I could count on her to not let me slip through the cracks, so it didn't bother me that I didn't have a set time. However, in your situation, the lack of a reserved time would really stress me out since it doesn't sound like yours keeps clients that will need appointments on her radar.

Personally, I have a low opinion of therapists who keep more clients on their caseload than they can manage to see at the agreed upon frequency. I just don't think it's acceptable to be overbooked and inaccessible to clients that one has agreed to provide therapy to.

Sorry you're in this situation. Did she actually say she is unwilling to provide a set slot, or are you just assuming based on how she's operated so far? I didn't think mine did set slots, but something happened (I forget what it was), and she asked me if I wanted to just see her at x and x day/time every week.

I asked about getting a set time and she said she might be able to give a set day but not time and it could take a few weeks before I could get the set day.

Mine doesn't officially give set times, but after I've been seeing him for a few months, he starting my usual slots open to me and offering them to me when I schedule. I still set the schedule with him each Monday (for a couple times each week). Though he has let me schedule in advance before, like if I knew I had a vacation or other conflict coming up. And he always has enough slots for me. But it's not the same as when we saw ex-marriage counselor, and he had us set as 2 pm on Mondays, like put us on a recurring calendar meeting.


Ex-T would never do a regular schedule or hold a specific slot for me. And it was more challenging because she only worked 3 days a week. She usually would say she had x time open, and I could basically take it or leave it. One week, she forgot to leave any slots open for me and booked herself completely, and it was really painful for me. I asked her at one point about setting a regular weekly slot, and she said it wouldn't be fair to her biweekly clients (???).


I feel it's better if they offer you set slots. I'm OK with my T doing that sort of unofficially, plus I also have a flexible schedule. But it really doesn't seem fair to people who aren't as flexible. And honestly, it seems like it would be easier for the T as well to know who they're seeing at, say, 11 am on a Wednesday. So I can understand your frustration. If it doesn't work well for you, maybe keep seeing her while you consider your search for other T's?

Yeah I am interviewing 2 more this week. They are really young and I am apprehensive. One doesn’t allow out of session contact. The other I have talked to her yet so I am not sure what her rules are like.

Hmm, well sounds to me like she has priorities that conflict with your (very reasonable) needs. I don't think she would work for me. I hope you have good luck with one of the other therapists you're interviewing.

My guess is that she doesn’t give clients set slots because it’s not how she wants to conduct business. It’s not what she prefers to do. Maybe it doesn’t fit her lifestyle or whatever.

I don't think I could handle it knowing I have a set appointment time each week. When I first started seeing EMDR T, I only wanted every other week because I was also seeing long term T weekly. Before Covid, current T saw clients 3 days a week. Two days her last client started at 3:00and one day it was 5:00. It was stressful for me because I travel over an hour to see her and I am supposed to leave work at 4:30. We agreed I would see her for the 5:00 thr every other week. When long term T passed she offered to see me weekly but the new weeks it would be at 6:00 she was committed to helping me through. After a few weeks the other client bo linger need the 5:00 slot. I literally. oils not see her at another time. She knew that going in. We had multiple conversations before I even had our appointment.

I do believe all her clients have a set day and time. So it is not because I am special. When Covis happened and she cur back to only 1 1/2 days, she asked what times would work for all clients and if they thought they could cut back how often they needed to see her (some cut back) She told me my slot was safe for me to see her weekly

Mine used to be unable to give me a fixed slot as she had way too large a caseload, plus I had some scheduling limitations placed upon me by my job.

I would only be able to book the next appointment with her, rarely the next two, and even though i knew that was the case with nearly every patient (because she said so), it was affecting me negatively.

But she listened when I told her it was hurting me to see her just once a month, and that I didn't want ro do any trauma processing at that frequency.

She then tried her best to fit me in at our agreed upon twice a month, usually a morning appointment as that was a condition my job imposed.

Now that she moved to private practice, and I'm currently not working full-time, she's given me a set day and time even though my schedule is now extremely flexible. She tries to avoid changing it unless she has no other choice, even though I tell her I'm very willing given my flexible schedule.

If i were you, I'd consider telling your T outright how this is affecting you. If she's decent, she'll listen and at least explain or try to meet your reasonable needs.

I never had a set time slot (and wouldn't have wanted one - my life was not that predictable). We set sessions probably a month ahead of time. I never had trouble getting in weekly as long as we scheduled ahead of time.

I’ve been all over the place with my time slots since covid but that is me and not her. I’ve been unpredictable with what I need at that time. But lately we have tried to stick to Tuesday afternoons.

For those who have a set schedule how hard is it to change your appointment if you have a conflict one week?

I don’t have a set schedule, per se. I book 6 months in advance, Bc I like the consistency. She’s usually pretty good at fitting me in if I need an extra session. As for cancelling, as long as I give 24 hour notice, no issues. Also, if I have to change a specific session day, that’s usually not an issue either. And as far as I know, she only sees clients 2 days a week; she reduced her caseload in recent years.

Current T when she worked for a big organization never had set days or times. It was sort of a free for all. The receptionists would book her clients whenever. So my appointments were all over the place. Eventually I got to the point where I would make appointments a month in advance so I could at least get on the schedule. Now that she works for herself, I have a set date and time. Every other Saturday at 11 AM. She's really flexible if I need an emergency appointment though.

I have set schedule. It comes and goes on the ease of changing if there's a conflict. It seems like it used to be easier. I don't know if that is because I needed her more (she felt it was more needed), if her schedule has gotten that busy, or if she has gotten more firm with what is her work schedule.

She does seem to be more flexible if it is her that needs the adjustment than me; however, that still is a less now than it used to be.

Generally not hard at all, but my schedule is flexible.

My T has a large caseload, and likes giving people regular slots where possible, so unfortunately I usually had to miss a week if it's my schedule when I worked.

Since my schedule is now flexible, and usually it's her having to shift me, she tries to offer another day in the same week.

Edited to be clearer.

My t makes sure I get in every three weeks, during the lock down she would only book a month ahead because she was not that busy. When I saw her today she has booked me up to the end of the year. She was super nice in getting me in twice before Christmas holidays, she's off for a couple weeks. So now I know that as long as im seeing her she will keep me booked in a couple/few months ahead. I find it's easier to have a set day and time and my previous t never did that for me, it interfered with my other things in life.