(((OUTSIDER)))

Have you already told T that you are cutting back? I'm struggling financially right now and my T has made it clear that we are keeping everything the same and money is not an issue. He also has a very liberal out of session contact policy. We have talked a lot about how I feel about his generosity and that really has helped.

I have heard other stories though about T's not working with the client in terms of lowering the fee in order to make it more afforable. All T's have their own policies re: money so the best thing to do is to talk talk talk it through with your T.

hi there. sorry youre going through this. the part about not being ready or not feeling ready must be hard. i can relate to the need for your T and having to cut back and feeling that you need to cut off that feeling of need to get through it must be pretty scary. that's a lot of work to cut off that feeling of need!
i think trying to understand what the feeling of need brings up for you is important and it sounds like you have a sense of it.
talking to your T sounds like a good start. also considering other options such as fee decrease, or picking up extra job, etc and i know all of this is hard to do and may not be possible.
whatever the outcome and hopefully it is one that is to your liking, if you end up cutting back, it may be tough but workable.
also do you think the feeling that if you cut back he or she will end up dumping you is a way of protecting yourself from feeling that need?
hang in there. this type of stuff, most people dont seem to understand it. i think t's and patients know how painful it is to take a loss in terms of frequency wrt seeing your t or terminating. you can do it.

(((outsider)))
I'm not in a position of having to cut back sessions but I can imagine I'd be having a major meltdown if I was. I'm glad you will talk it through with T, it might be really tough going but we are here to support you xxx

Thanks, Liese, DR and GE.

I just want to encourage you all to continue to be honest with EVERYTHING that is going on inside of you. The only way your T can help is if you are willing to be fully vulnerable and exposed. My T and I decided I was ready to begin transition and I went into panic mode. I had to share with him how I was totally connected to him (transference) and I really wanted to make sure we could disconnect before I left. That was in November. We are still working through the transition process and I'm dealing with a LOT of anxiety that is surfacing. My honesty with him has helped me get past that "connected" place and now I am able to look at him as my therapist. It has been a beautiful thing to be able to not have those dependency guilt issues anymore. I hope this is an encouragement to you .