Do you have friends who are therapists?

coolibrarian · Apr 30, 2019 at 10:42 AM

Do you have friends who are therapists or Pdocs? Off-hand I can think of 7 friends who fit this category. We never talk about my mental health or my T, or my T's name. I'm pretty sure my T knows most of them.

ALSO, my T and I have a lot of mutual friends. Only one knows that she is friends with my T (because I told her).

Once I was at a party, and an acquaintance asked about my hobbies, and I told her, and she said, "Oh, then you must know my friend, "T's name." I said, "Yes, I do know her." It was awkward for me, but don't know if the acquaintance noticed anything unusual about it. [In case this whole thing is misleading or confusing, my T and I have some of the same avocations or hobbies. At first it was awkward for me; I don't know how it was for her. Now, it's mostly ok for me. If we are in the same place, I usually acknowledge her with a nod or a wave, and then she might walk over to me. We usually bring it up at my next session.]

DP_2017 · Apr 30, 2019 at 10:44 AM

One of my out of the country friends is in school to be a T, but otherwise no.

stopdog · Apr 30, 2019 at 10:46 AM

Yes I do. None of them would have known I hired a therapist. It is one of the main reasons why I always chose straight therapists who were no where near my community. I did not want to show up at a party and see the one I was hiring.

SlumberKitty · Apr 30, 2019 at 11:27 AM

No. None of my friends are T's. I'd be surprised if any of my friends are even in therapy.

SalingerEsme · Apr 30, 2019 at 11:29 AM

Two of my close friends are Ts- a clinical psychologist and a social worker. They are two great people, and help me trust my own T. He has a different theory of practice though.

ElectricManatee · Apr 30, 2019 at 11:46 AM

One of my friends is a psychologist who trained at the place where my T used to work. I am sure my T was involved in training her, at least informally. My friend and I have discussed my T and how great we both think she is.

A woman in my book club is also a psychologist. She looked really familiar to me when I joined, but I couldn't place her. Then I realized that I had seen her picture while I was trolling the Therapist Finder on Psychology Today during a rupture with my T.

nottrustin · Apr 30, 2019 at 12:03 PM

I have a couple of high school friends who are Ts but they now live out of state. I have never discussed me doing ri therapy.

I have many coworker friends who are Ts. We discuss mental health issues, medications, etc. None of them know my Ts.

T and I had a food number of mutual friends. Mostly they were her coworker-friends (not Ts but other hospital employees) that I knew in my personal life. A couple knew I saw her as a T.

susannahsays · Apr 30, 2019 at 12:22 PM

I had a friend who was a clinical psychologist, but we had a falling out. She had done therapy previously, but she phased it out during the time I knew her. She was the executive director and owner of the agency I worked for. Obviously, working in an agency, I knew many therapist and also some psychiatrists. I wouldn't say we were friends, though, and the therapist at the time and my coworkers moved in completely different social circles. A former roommate was in school to get her PhD in psychology, and she had major issues. We were not friends, and considering how she treated me when she left, I assume she hated me.

ArtleyWilkins · Apr 30, 2019 at 02:11 PM

Yes, I have several friends who are therapists and one who is a psychiatrist. Kind of the nature of my profession I guess although a couple of them I know because they are in chorus with me now that I think about it. We don't really discuss our jobs much. We're friends, so we discuss "friend" things like our families, our vacations, the best place for Mexican food, etc.

Xynesthesia2 · Apr 30, 2019 at 02:23 PM

I work in the mental health field so know many therapists and psychiatrists. Some I consider friends and also dated psychiatrists before that I met via work. I usually talk about mental health-related things and also ourselves with friends like that quite a lot. One reason I always found the interactions with my Ts very limited and superficial in comparison.

Apr 30, 2019 at 08:31 PM

Yes, several, including my best friend. I tried to convert her to object relations but she is totally uninterested in psychoanalytic theory.

That one has also said negative things about the way I do therapy (eg focusing on transference feelings) and has even told me psychoanalysts can "screw you up" and to leave my T.

These discussions are interesting, but I don't follow her advice though I appreciate the input.

SummerTime12 · Apr 30, 2019 at 09:12 PM

Yes, I have several friends who are therapists. And if you include all of my cohorts (we are all interning in the mental health field and some of us, including myself, interned as therapists this year) who are graduating this week, then a whole lot more than several haha.

piggy momma · Apr 30, 2019 at 09:19 PM

I had a friend who was a T. We had a huge following out last year so we're no longer friends.

My current T was actually my friend before he became my T. If he ever stopped being my T, we'd probably be friends again. One day we'll be colleagues.

WarmFuzzySocks · May 01, 2019 at 12:06 AM

I do.

I don't know if they know or know of my therapist.

I don't really think of them as therapists. They're just people like the other folks I am friends with.

Spangle · May 01, 2019 at 06:47 PM

My best friend is a T. She works with children. We talk about my T & when I started therapy she wanted to know all about him. I think she was checking him out. Lol

starfishing · May 02, 2019 at 12:21 AM

Yes, lots of therapists in my social circles. I haven't mentioned who my therapist is to any of them, or amto any of my other friends with social or professional connections to my therapist. I'm pretty open about the fact that I'm in therapy, but I prefer to keep the specifics private and the overlap as minimal as possible.

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DP_2017 Grand Magnate Member Since Aug 2017 Location: A house Posts: 4,412 6 665 hugs given	Apr 30, 2019 at 10:44 AM #2 One of my out of the country friends is in school to be a T, but otherwise no. __________________ Grief is the price you pay for love.
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SlumberKitty Legendary Wise Elder Member Since Jul 2018 Location: CA Posts: 27,329 (SuperPoster!) 5 117.7k hugs given	Apr 30, 2019 at 11:27 AM #4 No. None of my friends are T's. I'd be surprised if any of my friends are even in therapy. __________________ Dum Spiro Spero IC XC NIKA
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SalingerEsme Grand Poohbah Member Since Jul 2017 Location: Neverland Posts: 1,805 6 4,957 hugs given	Apr 30, 2019 at 11:29 AM #5 Two of my close friends are Ts- a clinical psychologist and a social worker. They are two great people, and help me trust my own T. He has a different theory of practice though. __________________ Living things don’t all require/ light in the same degree. Louise Gluck
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Xynesthesia2 Veteran Member Member Since Mar 2019 Location: USA Posts: 540 5 55 hugs given	Apr 30, 2019 at 02:23 PM #10 I work in the mental health field so know many therapists and psychiatrists. Some I consider friends and also dated psychiatrists before that I met via work. I usually talk about mental health-related things and also ourselves with friends like that quite a lot. One reason I always found the interactions with my Ts very limited and superficial in comparison.
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SummerTime12 Grand Member Member Since Mar 2013 Location: USA Posts: 876 11 601 hugs given	Apr 30, 2019 at 09:12 PM #12 Yes, I have several friends who are therapists. And if you include all of my cohorts (we are all interning in the mental health field and some of us, including myself, interned as therapists this year) who are graduating this week, then a whole lot more than several haha.
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piggy momma Poohbah Member Since Oct 2018 Location: Canada Posts: 1,073 5 70 hugs given	Apr 30, 2019 at 09:19 PM #13 I had a friend who was a T. We had a huge following out last year so we're no longer friends. My current T was actually my friend before he became my T. If he ever stopped being my T, we'd probably be friends again. One day we'll be colleagues.
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Spangle Poohbah Member Since Sep 2017 Location: Somewhere out there Posts: 1,100 6 929 hugs given	May 01, 2019 at 06:47 PM #15 My best friend is a T. She works with children. We talk about my T & when I started therapy she wanted to know all about him. I think she was checking him out. Lol
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starfishing Member Member Since May 2017 Location: USA Posts: 466 6	May 02, 2019 at 12:21 AM #16 Yes, lots of therapists in my social circles. I haven't mentioned who my therapist is to any of them, or amto any of my other friends with social or professional connections to my therapist. I'm pretty open about the fact that I'm in therapy, but I prefer to keep the specifics private and the overlap as minimal as possible.
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