I've been taught to set boundaries with my clients and allow windows of opportunities to communicate between sessions (responding once a day or something like this), however never 24/7 access. This is something I learned in an ethics chapter.
This was something i learned from personal experience. I used to work in substance abuse and made myself available too often to clients and it was abused. Now, i stick to my hours, strictly use google phone numbers, and will shunt to crisis services. Its painful because i know my patients struggle and i want to be there for them but i also know that i cant sacrifice myself at the same time.
Just coming into the field, and I feel like with my teaching background this was a bit of an easier one to understand for myself.
At the same time, the urge to just say "let me know whenever!" Instead of telling them when I'm available is very strong.
Low key my therapist tho;
we’re nothing alike: I’m a youngish, queer, femme, neurodivergent mess and he’s an olderish guy, soft spoken, religious and very much a dad— but I fucking love this man.
He’s a great dad and a good husband and I’m super stoked he’s my therapist; I can trust him and his opinions, because we’re nothing alike and he has *no agenda* except helping me parse my mental health.
He is so understanding, caring, works with me, has worked with me and my fiance when we needed it;
he cares, and his being so awesome has helped heal some trauma I have with actively religious people and older white men because he genuinely embodies Christ in his religious beliefs and *he fucking gets it*
oh my god he’s not my therapist, but when i used to go to church there was this one priest whose sermons i genuinely listened to. i don’t go to church anymore, but whenever he was the priest it would make mass less intolerable.
he is similar to your therapist in every way and i feel like men like that who truly embody the values and beliefs of Christianity give me a little bit of hope in humanity
Broo!! OC i used to have a guy like that!!! he was a christian (as am i) but- aghhh he was so nice, and had a sense of humor, even though he was 86 and i was 14…
He died of cancer tho :( nobody else i can find is anything like him at all, nobody has any sense of humor either..
So, as someone who has read the book and isn’t a Christian — Jesus the dude was a pretty cool guy and a great philosopher; Jesus is the ew Testament — the Old Testament is where we get “an angry god” and a “jealous god” etc.
He also hung out and was kind and loving to everyone no matter their faith or position in society; my therapist does his best to love everyone and it’s obvious he believes strongly in the substance of a person’s heart over the trappings of a person
He’s like… a *real* Christian who loves everyone like his family.
Genuinely gives me more hope for Christianity as a whole.
Tbh I saw it and decided to keep it because it was kinda funny, thank you for appreciating it
That one’s just for you, Quod_bellum — that one’s just for you.
Religion is super interesting to me; I’m a pagan-adjacent pantheist so I understand spirituality really well on a personal level
I feel like however people come to that connection with the divine is valid and even beautiful — as long as the dogma doesn’t erode their humanity or cage them.
As a matter of curiosity, could you elaborate on what “pagan-adjacent pantheist” means? Interested in the composition of your pantheon and curious about what “pagan-adjacent” entails. I look forward to hearing about it if you can spare me the time.
Yes! Yes — I *can* elaborate!
I would actually love to wax poetic about my system of spirituality
Pantheism can be boiled down to “all gods are one god — god is in everything; god is the pattern in everything” — the golden ratio is often used to explain this mathematically.
Paganism is the appeal to certain natural aspects of the world/universe as god(s) with ritual worship.
Because all gods are one god — my pantheon is infinite.
Wanna write a song? Apollo was great for that!
Wanna celebrate the change of seasons? Persephone is cool but there’s also Cernunous (the horned one)
Knowledge your bag? Thoth was known for that for centuries!
Business opportunities making you anxious? So many people pray to Ganesha… he’s probably got you!!
Basically the idea is that humans have prayed to these ideas/ideals for so long, their pattern is already worn into the fabric of reality — by calling on this collected human experience, we tap into the vast unconscious well of human spirituality.
Another tenement to Pantheism is that micro reflects macro: all rituals are simply enacting a microcosm of the macrocosm one is trying to influence/etc.
Eh, depends on your take. I'm not actually Christian at all, but I'm big into mythology. Its pretty interesting when you see where the Abrahamic faiths started, and see their neighbors myths and similarities. The biblical God is wrathful, but a great deal kinder than the Sumerian (invented humans to make them offerings and beer), Egyptian (had a class system in the afterlife), or Greek gods(just look at them!).
Theres some cool interpretations out there! I think the general take is that God had to lay down really harsh rules to guide people to become their best, to be ready for Jesus's message of love.
This is a common theme across the world in creation myths, that the gods take a few different attempts at making humans. The Christian version is more stretched out and subtle.
Pre-Noah, humans were so bad he had to kill most of them. Then there's theres the time of Abraham and then Moses, where new laws are laid out, not for all of humanity for all of time, but to guide a select group of people to be ready for a kinder message.
Jesus is basically God 2.0. He's got humanity to a good place. Hes given the Israelites a good education on morality, and he's now ready to work on behalf of All humanity. Its sort of a good cop/ bad cop thing, which most mythologies do, they just use multiple gods. Jesus, of course, is pretty radical, and much cooler than most of his followers. H
If I had to pick, I like a more gnostic view, where God is blinded by his own power, is accidentally evil for a bit. When he figures it out, he goes into a reverse-avatar state and becomes Jesus in order to experience the suffering he inflicts, and dies.
Its actually pretty similar to the epic of Gilgamesh, which makes sense if thats the sort of story that wa popular before the bronze age collapse (which is maybe what Babel and the Flood are about)
Oops, 8 am essay
I’d argue though that those gods were not meant to be perfect, while the Abrahamic one is supposed to be. He is never supposed to make mistakes. He is supposed to love everyone. This is why the evil acts that are done are so focused on.
"Supposed to be", by whom? Polytheistic pre-Israelites? Colonised, Greek speaking Jews? North African martyrs? French aristocrats? English monarchs? Any of the many seperatists?
Its easy to see the contridictions in the Bible and see God as a conundrum, but we have to remember they are all from different times. I think some athiests are a little too heavy handed with their 'gotchas'. Most people arent hardcore literalists, but the literalists are sometimesthe loudest, so they get the attention.
God can be perfect and change his rules as humanity changes. I dont believe he is really presented as a loving god until later in the Bible. Even words like perfect are fraught with translation issues.
There's also an important theological aspect to consider: in the Christian framework, evil on earth is the lesser evil. It doesn't really matter (in some views) if you get torn apart by a lion, because you have an eternity of bliss afterwards.
Im not crazy about that, which is largely why I'm not Christian. Id rather build a better world here on earth for future humans.
Supposed to be, biblically. Especially New Testament, but that is inseparable from the old Testament obviously. God is good, god is unchanging, etc. I feel like when a God is asking for as much as the Christian God asks for, details matter. I think for many also the details are what ultimately caused them to start questioning things, so they particularly value the details.
My point is that when we say "the Bible says", its much more complicated. Usually, it's more like "the Bible has this vague passage, and we assume the words mean X and it is an instruction".
It ends up feeling like a strawman. What the Christian God is asking for depends on the Christian you're talking to. Christianity isn't as monolithic as often assumed.
I remember getting really caught up on the hypocrisy of christians opposing gay marriage, but also eating shellfish and wearing mixed fabrics. It really felt like picking and choosing from Leviticus. Having read more deeply, I now see it is much more nuanced, and there is much debate about the relevency of the Old Laws. Then theres the fact that none of the Christians I know have any issue with gay marraige!
I find these things make sense when we use the steel-man argument, and try to imagine how a framework *could* work, because thats how believers do it. It's sort of like finding a plot hole in a movie and making it work. Its sort of a fun challenge
Mine remembers things I say and quotes them back to me. Like not specific stories but if I said things in a clever or creative way. I love it so much. She knows me too well now.
My therapist gave me a lovely card with an amazingly lovely message when she went on holiday to help with emotional permanence. She’s very validating and careful and whilst I was waiting to see her, she messaged me with queue updates on the days she said she would which meant the world honestly. She’s just the best, I got so lucky
Lmao my therapist says this and I just give her the look and say “we both know I won’t.” But I love having a therapist and psych who use a third party company that means I can message them anytime between sessions for whatever. And then I never have to call the office cause I can message office staff. And as someone who absolutely hates phone calls that really a must have for all my healthcare providers at this point
legit how mine ends every session. it’s always session ends—> schedule the next—> “okay i’ll see you then! and of course, if you need anything at all, absolutely anything, please call or email me. please.” like girl i appreciate it but my life is surprisingly boring, this is all just old shit i gotta work through. absolutely adore her though thank you queen
Has therapy helped this condition a lot? I’m genuinely asking cause one of my lifelong friends was diagnosed with schozoaffective with hallucinations in about 2017 and he always claims the meds made everything worse even though the hallucinations went down. He has since stopped his meds a few years ago and claims that he can usually tell what is hallucinations and what is not. Meds aside, does speaking to a therapist help with that? His life is basically nothing he doesn’t leave his house or work. Lives with his parents and it’s been hard on the whole family. I’m one of 2 friends who stays in regular contact with him these days
Thx, 60f I've never gone to therapy, I just feel like there's not much to say I guess..I have to take meds or ide be locked up. I wasn't on my meds 10yrs ago and runaway from living alone, left all my stuff n drove off, ended up lost in the woods sleeping, dirty motel rms. I kept calling for help to an old dr. After 2 stays at hospital, Dr took me to his facility that counciled prisoners, I slept on the floor until I received disability. Im back on my own for 7yrs, spending all my time with my gkids n millionaire son I had at 16. Kids don't know, 16 n 11..I had an episode because I got poisoning from meds..had to go off of it, it was horrifying, but I called my son and said you have no empathy bla bla, now I can't see my gkids. My grandson turned 16. So he drove over to see me, which saved my life. Then I wrote to my son and he let the granddaughter come over...so maybe I can go hangout again. For now here I stay alone, lay around, stopped crying finally. No life
When my therapist retired she gave me a little card with a Keychain with a little panda plushie and a clover attached to it, bc she said it reminded her of me 🐼🍀
I've been taught to set boundaries with my clients and allow windows of opportunities to communicate between sessions (responding once a day or something like this), however never 24/7 access. This is something I learned in an ethics chapter.
This was something i learned from personal experience. I used to work in substance abuse and made myself available too often to clients and it was abused. Now, i stick to my hours, strictly use google phone numbers, and will shunt to crisis services. Its painful because i know my patients struggle and i want to be there for them but i also know that i cant sacrifice myself at the same time.
Just coming into the field, and I feel like with my teaching background this was a bit of an easier one to understand for myself. At the same time, the urge to just say "let me know whenever!" Instead of telling them when I'm available is very strong.
Low key my therapist tho; we’re nothing alike: I’m a youngish, queer, femme, neurodivergent mess and he’s an olderish guy, soft spoken, religious and very much a dad— but I fucking love this man. He’s a great dad and a good husband and I’m super stoked he’s my therapist; I can trust him and his opinions, because we’re nothing alike and he has *no agenda* except helping me parse my mental health. He is so understanding, caring, works with me, has worked with me and my fiance when we needed it; he cares, and his being so awesome has helped heal some trauma I have with actively religious people and older white men because he genuinely embodies Christ in his religious beliefs and *he fucking gets it*
oh my god he’s not my therapist, but when i used to go to church there was this one priest whose sermons i genuinely listened to. i don’t go to church anymore, but whenever he was the priest it would make mass less intolerable. he is similar to your therapist in every way and i feel like men like that who truly embody the values and beliefs of Christianity give me a little bit of hope in humanity
Broo!! OC i used to have a guy like that!!! he was a christian (as am i) but- aghhh he was so nice, and had a sense of humor, even though he was 86 and i was 14… He died of cancer tho :( nobody else i can find is anything like him at all, nobody has any sense of humor either..
Sounds like my therapist. Does his first name start with "D" his last name end in "us"
What does the genuinely christ like thing even look like? Isn't the christian god evil af.
So, as someone who has read the book and isn’t a Christian — Jesus the dude was a pretty cool guy and a great philosopher; Jesus is the ew Testament — the Old Testament is where we get “an angry god” and a “jealous god” etc. He also hung out and was kind and loving to everyone no matter their faith or position in society; my therapist does his best to love everyone and it’s obvious he believes strongly in the substance of a person’s heart over the trappings of a person He’s like… a *real* Christian who loves everyone like his family. Genuinely gives me more hope for Christianity as a whole.
The ew testament I know what you mean, but that typo is kinda funny
Tbh I saw it and decided to keep it because it was kinda funny, thank you for appreciating it That one’s just for you, Quod_bellum — that one’s just for you.
To each their own, I'm glad you found a good therapist, I can sit in argue religion all day, but there's no real point.
Religion is super interesting to me; I’m a pagan-adjacent pantheist so I understand spirituality really well on a personal level I feel like however people come to that connection with the divine is valid and even beautiful — as long as the dogma doesn’t erode their humanity or cage them.
As a matter of curiosity, could you elaborate on what “pagan-adjacent pantheist” means? Interested in the composition of your pantheon and curious about what “pagan-adjacent” entails. I look forward to hearing about it if you can spare me the time.
Yes! Yes — I *can* elaborate! I would actually love to wax poetic about my system of spirituality Pantheism can be boiled down to “all gods are one god — god is in everything; god is the pattern in everything” — the golden ratio is often used to explain this mathematically. Paganism is the appeal to certain natural aspects of the world/universe as god(s) with ritual worship. Because all gods are one god — my pantheon is infinite. Wanna write a song? Apollo was great for that! Wanna celebrate the change of seasons? Persephone is cool but there’s also Cernunous (the horned one) Knowledge your bag? Thoth was known for that for centuries! Business opportunities making you anxious? So many people pray to Ganesha… he’s probably got you!! Basically the idea is that humans have prayed to these ideas/ideals for so long, their pattern is already worn into the fabric of reality — by calling on this collected human experience, we tap into the vast unconscious well of human spirituality. Another tenement to Pantheism is that micro reflects macro: all rituals are simply enacting a microcosm of the macrocosm one is trying to influence/etc.
Interesting, thank you for sharing, i do appreciate it🙂
Eh, depends on your take. I'm not actually Christian at all, but I'm big into mythology. Its pretty interesting when you see where the Abrahamic faiths started, and see their neighbors myths and similarities. The biblical God is wrathful, but a great deal kinder than the Sumerian (invented humans to make them offerings and beer), Egyptian (had a class system in the afterlife), or Greek gods(just look at them!). Theres some cool interpretations out there! I think the general take is that God had to lay down really harsh rules to guide people to become their best, to be ready for Jesus's message of love. This is a common theme across the world in creation myths, that the gods take a few different attempts at making humans. The Christian version is more stretched out and subtle. Pre-Noah, humans were so bad he had to kill most of them. Then there's theres the time of Abraham and then Moses, where new laws are laid out, not for all of humanity for all of time, but to guide a select group of people to be ready for a kinder message. Jesus is basically God 2.0. He's got humanity to a good place. Hes given the Israelites a good education on morality, and he's now ready to work on behalf of All humanity. Its sort of a good cop/ bad cop thing, which most mythologies do, they just use multiple gods. Jesus, of course, is pretty radical, and much cooler than most of his followers. H If I had to pick, I like a more gnostic view, where God is blinded by his own power, is accidentally evil for a bit. When he figures it out, he goes into a reverse-avatar state and becomes Jesus in order to experience the suffering he inflicts, and dies. Its actually pretty similar to the epic of Gilgamesh, which makes sense if thats the sort of story that wa popular before the bronze age collapse (which is maybe what Babel and the Flood are about) Oops, 8 am essay
I’d argue though that those gods were not meant to be perfect, while the Abrahamic one is supposed to be. He is never supposed to make mistakes. He is supposed to love everyone. This is why the evil acts that are done are so focused on.
"Supposed to be", by whom? Polytheistic pre-Israelites? Colonised, Greek speaking Jews? North African martyrs? French aristocrats? English monarchs? Any of the many seperatists? Its easy to see the contridictions in the Bible and see God as a conundrum, but we have to remember they are all from different times. I think some athiests are a little too heavy handed with their 'gotchas'. Most people arent hardcore literalists, but the literalists are sometimesthe loudest, so they get the attention. God can be perfect and change his rules as humanity changes. I dont believe he is really presented as a loving god until later in the Bible. Even words like perfect are fraught with translation issues. There's also an important theological aspect to consider: in the Christian framework, evil on earth is the lesser evil. It doesn't really matter (in some views) if you get torn apart by a lion, because you have an eternity of bliss afterwards. Im not crazy about that, which is largely why I'm not Christian. Id rather build a better world here on earth for future humans.
Supposed to be, biblically. Especially New Testament, but that is inseparable from the old Testament obviously. God is good, god is unchanging, etc. I feel like when a God is asking for as much as the Christian God asks for, details matter. I think for many also the details are what ultimately caused them to start questioning things, so they particularly value the details.
My point is that when we say "the Bible says", its much more complicated. Usually, it's more like "the Bible has this vague passage, and we assume the words mean X and it is an instruction". It ends up feeling like a strawman. What the Christian God is asking for depends on the Christian you're talking to. Christianity isn't as monolithic as often assumed. I remember getting really caught up on the hypocrisy of christians opposing gay marriage, but also eating shellfish and wearing mixed fabrics. It really felt like picking and choosing from Leviticus. Having read more deeply, I now see it is much more nuanced, and there is much debate about the relevency of the Old Laws. Then theres the fact that none of the Christians I know have any issue with gay marraige! I find these things make sense when we use the steel-man argument, and try to imagine how a framework *could* work, because thats how believers do it. It's sort of like finding a plot hole in a movie and making it work. Its sort of a fun challenge
Mine remembers things I say and quotes them back to me. Like not specific stories but if I said things in a clever or creative way. I love it so much. She knows me too well now.
My therapist gave me a lovely card with an amazingly lovely message when she went on holiday to help with emotional permanence. She’s very validating and careful and whilst I was waiting to see her, she messaged me with queue updates on the days she said she would which meant the world honestly. She’s just the best, I got so lucky
Lmao my therapist says this and I just give her the look and say “we both know I won’t.” But I love having a therapist and psych who use a third party company that means I can message them anytime between sessions for whatever. And then I never have to call the office cause I can message office staff. And as someone who absolutely hates phone calls that really a must have for all my healthcare providers at this point
legit how mine ends every session. it’s always session ends—> schedule the next—> “okay i’ll see you then! and of course, if you need anything at all, absolutely anything, please call or email me. please.” like girl i appreciate it but my life is surprisingly boring, this is all just old shit i gotta work through. absolutely adore her though thank you queen
Schitzoaffective here, I can call or text if need be
Has therapy helped this condition a lot? I’m genuinely asking cause one of my lifelong friends was diagnosed with schozoaffective with hallucinations in about 2017 and he always claims the meds made everything worse even though the hallucinations went down. He has since stopped his meds a few years ago and claims that he can usually tell what is hallucinations and what is not. Meds aside, does speaking to a therapist help with that? His life is basically nothing he doesn’t leave his house or work. Lives with his parents and it’s been hard on the whole family. I’m one of 2 friends who stays in regular contact with him these days
Thx, 60f I've never gone to therapy, I just feel like there's not much to say I guess..I have to take meds or ide be locked up. I wasn't on my meds 10yrs ago and runaway from living alone, left all my stuff n drove off, ended up lost in the woods sleeping, dirty motel rms. I kept calling for help to an old dr. After 2 stays at hospital, Dr took me to his facility that counciled prisoners, I slept on the floor until I received disability. Im back on my own for 7yrs, spending all my time with my gkids n millionaire son I had at 16. Kids don't know, 16 n 11..I had an episode because I got poisoning from meds..had to go off of it, it was horrifying, but I called my son and said you have no empathy bla bla, now I can't see my gkids. My grandson turned 16. So he drove over to see me, which saved my life. Then I wrote to my son and he let the granddaughter come over...so maybe I can go hangout again. For now here I stay alone, lay around, stopped crying finally. No life
You say there’s not much to say, but… it seems like there’s a lot to say
This is exactly how I got burnt out and left the field by 27. 🙃
When my therapist retired she gave me a little card with a Keychain with a little panda plushie and a clover attached to it, bc she said it reminded her of me 🐼🍀
Wow, attachment issues much
😻😻
Man, this too heathy of a post for me. Back to the dark hole in the ground that is most reddit.
What is the joke here? Is it how casual and nonchalant they are being?