Your relationship with your therapist can feel kind of confusing at first. They know everything about you, but you may not know much about them, or about what to expect from them! To help clarify some expectations around what is typical in my practice, I’ve come up with a few examples to help offer some insight:
Yes
Yes, you can eat in session - as long as you’re present and engaging in the discussion, I’d always rather you eat and feel nourished, especially if it’s been a busy day and you’ve not had a chance to eat otherwise.
Yes, you get comfy for session - whether it’s virtual or in-person, you can switch chairs, take session from bed, wear your pyjamas, etc. As long as you’re wearing clothes and feeling safe, I’m glad you felt comfortable showing up as you are!
Yes, I’ll call insurance for you - asking questions, responding to inquiries and submitting invoices to insurance are all a part of my weekly routine.
Yes, I won’t make eye contact with you - talking about difficult topics, masking, or feeling overwhelmed by the idea of being perceived can be a lot. I support the idea of accessing the type of support you need, with a potential goal of getting more comfortable with these topics as needed.
Yes, you can show me receipts/pictures - whether it’s decoding a weird text or celebrating your milestone moment, it’s all a part of the process!
Yes, we can do a shorter session - if you accidentally double booked yourself or cannot get through an entire 50 minutes, we can take breaks or wrap up earlier as needed.
Yes, you can call me from your car/balcony/closet as long as you are safe & it’s confidential.
Yes, you can bring your infant to session - I work with many perinatal parents and don’t want securing childcare to be a barrier in accessing support when you may need it the most.
Yes, you can curse - you can fucking swear as much as you please!
No
No, you can’t join session while driving - while I certainly work with clients who take sessions from a parked vehicle, driving during a session is a bad idea. Being distracted on the road is dangerous and makes me feel limited in the approaches/efficacy of our session time.
No you cannot bring a friend/spouse to your session (at least without discussing it first) - while attending therapy can feel like an overwhelming prospect at first, bringing a companion may be detrimental to treatment and is a concern we could work on together.
No, I can’t meet on the weekends - at this time, I don’t offer weekend sessions in order to prioritize my own self care. I practice what I preach and need time to practice my own self care!
No, I won’t change my cancellation policy - I try my best to be understanding about emergencies (i.e. serious illness, pet/family emergency, etc.). However, I reserve time that could be used for other people and cancelling less than 24 hours before a session usually leaves me unable to fill that time.
No, you cannot record the session - It’s my job to protect your confidentiality. If the recording gets uploaded to the cloud, accidentally leaked or stolen, your personal health information is at risk.
No, you cannot join session from a public space - The same reasoning applies as above. While you might be comfortable joining from a public space, it’s inherently compromising of confidentiality and feels less therapeutic, which defeats the purpose of a session.
While these items might not be all-encompassing for every therapists personal boundaries, hopefully this offers some more insight into how our time together might look or feel!
