Posted by onceupon on October 5, 2008, at 20:49:51
In reply to Do you know where your T....?, posted by JayMac on October 2, 2008, at 16:15:44
This is always an interesting topic for me. I don't know where my current therapist lives, though not for lack of googling her.
My previous therapist worked out of her home for about half of the time I was her client; when she moved to a professional office, I thought I'd really miss her home office, but it was nice to not hear her boyfriend walking around upstairs (her office was at the garden level) or her washing machine going in the next room. I was still tempted to drive by her house after she moved to the new office, but I don't think I ever did, nor did I ever work up the courage to share that urge with her. Good for you for having discussed it so openly with your therapist! We lived in the same small town and happened to work at the same hospital (she ran a small private practice on the side). I ran into her there a couple of times and found that awkward beyond belief.
This is perhaps irrelevant, but I just remembered an amusing/horrifying story involving home offices. When I moved to a new area and was interviewing new therapists, I saw one who worked out of her house. During my first session, I found out that she let her kitten wander in and out of the session through a sliding door that was left ajar. When the kitten tried to jump on her desk or the furniture, she sprayed it with a squirt gun! I was appalled and never went back. I'm all for therapy animals, but not those who are not trained!
Anyways, as others and you have said, I think that the longing to do a "drive-by" is natural, but also overwhelming. I like the idea of having a "transitional object," but for myself, I worry about becoming too attached to whatever that object might be, instead of trying to find attachments outside the therapy relationship.
poster:onceupon
thread:855293
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20081005/msgs/855928.html