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Why I’ll Never Go Back To My Therapist’s Office
As a traditionally trained therapist, I have believed that the only legitimate practice of psychotherapy occurred in an office between two people for precisely fifty minutes and a fair amount of money. My office was well-appointed, so well that my Kleenex matched my carpet. My clothing was crisply professional and I adhered to all the formalities befitting my persona as “Dr. Manning.”
On and off over the years, I have also been a psychotherapy patient. I have found it extremely useful in helping me with my work and my life. When the coronavirus hit, and I got a “presumptive” case of it, or something else, she and I were guaranteed to be isolated for months. I was crestfallen that I would miss so many sessions. I assumed that our work together would be indefinitely suspended. It never occurred to me that we could continue working under other conditions. When she suggested that we maintain contact online, I was appalled.
How can you give empathy through a screen???
I hate my computer. It is a source of continued frustration to me as well as a reminder that I am a digital dinosaur. There was no way that something so bad could help me feel good.
After about 20 minutes of missing my therapist, I relented and began to play with Facetime. Unfortunately, this involved frequently waking my…
