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Intake with new T - what was yours like?

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Intake with new T - what was yours like?

Postby radioflyer2014rf » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:45 am

Hi all,

I'm going to check out a new T in two weeks. This will be first T that specializes in dissociative disorders. I'm a bit nervous and wondering about what the intake session will be like. What were your experiences during intake? What kinds of questions did they ask - obvi, if we're seeking out a trauma T, there is an assumption of some kind of that. What will they ask? I always avoided those trauma related questions before with other T's - told them later on once I felt more comfortable. I get super spacey even making simple statements about it - until later, when i feel more comfortable. Although I know this new T will theoretically know how to manage any of that, I'm still just trying to prepare so I can keep myself as grounded and connected as possible. It feels super vulnerable to get spacey with a new T. I need to stay as connected as possible.

Thanks ahead of time for sharing how your T handled those kinds of questions during intake / first session.
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Re: Intake with new T - what was yours like?

Postby Nondescript » Fri Mar 27, 2015 2:55 am

Both therapists I had initial appointments with did not ask specific questions about my traumas, except to ask if I knew whether I had a trauma history or not. I asked them why, and they said it was considered dangerous to ask detailed information like that of DID patients who might become destabilized. Instead they wait for you to bring it up. Both of these people were trained by the same person, Colin Ross.
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Re: Intake with new T - what was yours like?

Postby Una+ » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:52 pm

What Nondescript said.

A therapist who tries to get into details of your trauma with you in the first session or, worse, on the telephone beforehand, is not qualified to treat you. Period. This is true even if you don't have DID. In some cases it can take a year or more of stabilization and safety work before the client is ready to begin work on the trauma material.

You do not ever have to answer questions that feel unsafe or make you dissociate. If the therapist presses you for answers, again that indicates they are not qualified to treat you. Simply maintain your boundary, decline to answer, and know that you are taking care of yourself.
Dx DID older woman married w kids. 0 Una, host + 3, 1, 5. 1 animal. 2 older man. 3 teen girl. 4 girl behind amnesia wall. 5 girl in love. Our thread.
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Re: Intake with new T - what was yours like?

Postby Team78 » Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:30 pm

I'm terribly guilty that I remembered way more later in the process than initial when I entered therapy. Now with new T I'm so intent on telling everything with a new T without even really realizing the impact of how it could destabilize us. I feel so terrible because in my mind I don't come off as being credible I feel guilty for everything and don't want to be a survivor. I feel like total liar. I'm not new to therapy and I go into a new T thinking its a continuation. How can I slow or make sure trust is their without looking like I'm still hiding stuff, when I don't want to feel bad for not remember it in the first place...When people know my worst the awful feeling of it ends right there I ain't going to take my job serious with someone that has a past so horrid...<.thinking for my T...

Does that make sense?
Dx: DID, PTSD, Panic Disorder

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Re: Intake with new T - what was yours like?

Postby MakersDozn » Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:25 pm

These were our criteria. Your mileage may vary.

1. The T must be willing to acknowledge that we are the final decision-maker with regard to our treatment goals and methods. We are the consumer; the T is a facilitator.
2. The T must be willing to acknowledge and respect our system paradigm (i.e. no host, individual members of a collective).
3. The T must leave the decision to us as to whether or not we wish to integrate (we do not).
4. The T must respect our personal boundaries and the boundaries of a healthy therapeutic relationship; conversely, we agree to do the same.
5. The T must have a horoscope sign compatible with ours (completely serious on this one).

MDs
Body cis ♀ (1962). Realized 1996 that we're multiple. System of 47, all cis: 42 ♀, 5 ♂; 17 littles (0-7+), 9 middles (8-11+), 14 teens (12-17+), 5 bigs (18+), + formless yin/yang.

Notable: Charity 25 (oldest), Deborah 23, Drew 23f, Mary 23, Rachel 23, Laura 17.5, Allegra 17, Cass 17, shawn 16f.
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Re: Intake with new T - what was yours like?

Postby Una+ » Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:41 pm

buter8137 wrote:thinking for my T...

Don't think for your T. You are only filling your head with thoughts you imagine your T is thinking, which distracts you from what your T actually says.
Dx DID older woman married w kids. 0 Una, host + 3, 1, 5. 1 animal. 2 older man. 3 teen girl. 4 girl behind amnesia wall. 5 girl in love. Our thread.
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Re: Intake with new T - what was yours like?

Postby LeOkAsPEr » Sat Mar 28, 2015 7:46 pm

The last therapist I saw gave me a bottle of a̶n̶t̶i̶-̶d̶e̶p̶r̶e̶s̶s̶a̶n̶t̶s̶ all purpose medication and told me I'd be cured within a week.

I hate therapists.
2+2=5
3+3=7
4+4=9
5+5=11
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Re: Intake with new T - what was yours like?

Postby Una+ » Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:02 pm

LeOkAsPEr, I want to see you taking better care of yourself. Selecting your service providers more carefully would be a great place to start.

Was this person a therapist at all? Most therapists are not licensed to prescribe medications, and most psychiatrists (who are licensed) are not therapists.
Dx DID older woman married w kids. 0 Una, host + 3, 1, 5. 1 animal. 2 older man. 3 teen girl. 4 girl behind amnesia wall. 5 girl in love. Our thread.
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Re: Intake with new T - what was yours like?

Postby CopperMoon » Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:12 pm

We have been seeing the current therapist for approximately seven months now, the first therapist specializing in dissociative disorders. It has been a lengthy process and has moved very slowly, but in retrospect it was necessary and the therapist knew what she was doing by avoiding asking many questions and taking extra care not to lead in sessions. Trust from the system began approximately two months ago, to give perspective on the time required in this particular case. Only within the past month, at approximately six months into therapy, did an alter with more painful memories begin to surface. If you were to rummage through posts of the host from several moons ago, you would find a great deal of ambition and impatience regarding the therapy work. However the therapist knew what she was doing, and it has become evident that had all of these things been unleashed and/or addressed / questioned in the beginning, it likely would have resulted in a life-threatening crisis. It is normal to go slow and for you to work up to things when you are ready.
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Re: Intake with new T - what was yours like?

Postby radioflyer2014rf » Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:57 pm

Thanks for everyone's replies. I heard a lot of the same themes of taking it slow and allowing oneself to have limits with what should be disclosed. I liked hearing how things worked (or didn't work) and what you think about it in retrospect.
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