Posted by AMB on March 21, 2013, at 12:02:06
In reply to Re: Attachment to therapist, posted by baseball55 on January 15, 2013, at 19:30:46
> > I don't think it's the childlike attachment that is helpful so much as the ability to naturally outgrow the childlike attachment.
> >
> For me, it was both. I had a weak sense of self that I concealed behind this armor I had built up. When it started to come apart, I literally lost my sense of self. My therapist "held" me, as they say. I used my attachment to him to regrow and develop a more balanced self-concept. It took a long time for me, but I came in pretty damaged.
>
> I guess you could think about this as my attachment serving his self-interest in money, but the truth is that he could have made twice or more as much per hour by sending me to someone else and just prescribing meds. The insurance company allowed him only 115 for an hour of therapy compared to 85 for a 20-minute med visit.
>
> Plus he had to take on this major responsibility for someone who was falling apart, had become suicidal, was going in and out of hospitals. I have a friend who is a therapist and she said that most therapists would not have taken me on -- I was too intense and too high-risk -- and that, if they did, they couldn't have more than one patient like me in their practice or they'd burn out.I just read this post and now appreciate even more your advice in my situation. It sounds like our relationships with our pdocs and therapists are similar to some extent. My pdoc made it clear that he doesn't do long term therapy, but he would give me the 40-50 minute appointments if I needed them. As with most pdocs it is less profitable than the 20 minute ones and I tried to respect this. But when I felt needy he would always oblige. I also have a weak sense of self and become overwhelmed easily although I presented as fairly together when I first sought treatment. I unraveld over time and he did help me get through it, even with all the internet distractions. My goal is to ultimately deal with it the way you are with both providers. I see my dbt therapist twice a month and him once a month. But if I can get this out of my system I hope to wean off him a bit too and see him every 2 months if I'm stable...
poster:AMB
thread:1032695
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20130309/msgs/1040814.html