There was talk somewhere a little while ago about sharing some positive stories about our T experiences... Here's one...

You might know that I have really been struggling with a potential really long (5 weeks) break from seeing T due to her vacation and then my vacation. Due to a plethora of reasons, I cancelled my vacation, and now have my regular schedule with my T through the summer, except for her travel (2 times she'll be away for a week, 1 time she'll be away for 4 days.)

Anyway, I finally got up the nerve to tell her how anxious I was about being apart during those long breaks while she's away. I bawled my eyes out while I confessed how anxious I was, and how afraid I was to tell her how I was feeling cause I didn't being so attached to her. She was incredibly supportive, beyond what I could have even imagined. SHE came up with the idea of giving me something from her office to hold on to while she was away. SHE normalized my attachment, accepted it, was open to hearing my thoughts on it, then praised me for being so honest and open.

Though I cried, once again, for nearly 45 minutes straight, she never once wavered, was so caring and supportive, and now I am holding on to something from her desk... I feel very warm and fuzzy I lucked out in finding this T, she is the first T I have worked with that holds the boundaries so incredibly solid, I know what is allowed and what she doesn't allow. It's like she's created this incredible safety zone in her office, and each time I run up against something scary, the boundaries created make it ok for me to bring it up with her. Though it is really hard to do, the more I've brought small small things up and she's handled them so solidly, the more comfortable I am getting in preparing to bring some of the bigger stuff up.

I LOVE my T. But the best part is that I love her AS my T, and while a part of me does wish she could be my mom, I know (as I learned from someone here) if that was the case, than our T relationship would not be the way it is, so I'm quite content and grateful to have her in my life as my T.

Room 2 Grow -- this is so encouraging to read!! YAY for YOU to have the courage to say all of that out loud. I know how vulnerable it feels. Your T. sounds wonderful--steady and caring.

Well done, you!!

((((R2G)))
Your T sounds wonderful! I love that she has clear boundaries that create a safe place for you and the patience to be consistent so you could learn to trust her.

But it takes two, so may I very strongly agree with your T and say it was quite courageous of you to open up and talk about these feelings. Trust me when I say I know how scary it is. You're doing really good work. Thank you so much for sharing this.

AG

Sounds like a great connection!

I also have a wonderful T. She almost always says the right thing. I find that amazing. I don't know how she does it but she has to be the world's best listener because she really seems to hear everything I say.

I feel that because of this I have made great strides in my recovery.

Thanks you guys! I really appreciate the support and encouragement. I've been intherapy before, but it has never been like this, with a T that is so good for me! It is Soooooo much harder than it ever was before, but she makes me feel so safe it is actually a little scary.

At this moment I actually wish I could call her (and I can call and leave a VM if I really wanted) because I am at a workshop till Friday and am having major anxiety over staying in this hotel room for the next two nights. It is triggering a ton of fears and my OCD is out of control. My T prepared me for this, but... I want to go home and hold the thing I have from her office instead of laying here wide awake typing from my phone!!

Hugs to you all! I don't know how much I'll be on in the next two days, but I'll be thinking of everyone!