![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Rockerr on September 5, 2016, at 17:29:59
My therapist seems to briefly fall asleep a few times. I asked him about it, he said he was not asleep. I thought it was odd since it was clear to be he had briefly dozed off (5-8 seconds). He does not typically close his eyes for a few seconds at a time and after 3 years seeing him this has happened in the last 18 months.
Surprised and confused he said he wasn't sleeping, I consulted a friend of mine who fired my therapist. My therapist told me never to refer anyone to him again as loaded for me when my friend fired him. Anyways without my prompting him my friend told me he fired my therapist mostly because it was a bad fit but when he fell asleep on him multiple times my friend said that was all he could take and fired him.
I'm not sure what to do. I like this therapist we have made progress but I really don't know how to handle him falling asleep and then denying it.
Posted by rjlockhart37 on September 5, 2016, at 23:39:39
In reply to Therapist keeps falling asleep, posted by Rockerr on September 5, 2016, at 17:29:59
I've had a therapist that texted on his phone while i was talking to him, and ended the session early, he had no motivation at all to keep me it was like he was just getting paid by the hour.....Maybe it was communication problem because i had trouble keeping on topic, but he would pull me in, listen, say a pet answers, it's like he indirectly would escort me to the door. But he was a well-known therapist that's in the christian communities, and was busy having to do stuff....but being a christian Dr does mean any thing, they can be as judgmental or worse than a secular Dr.... he just talked really quick and ended
but when i was a teenager even thought later on i talked about very strange things, my T the fact that he listen and connected with me, and i could call him when i needed to talk, never forget him.
Just maybe ask a question that will catch his attention to wake up, like ask him what he thinks about ((any topic))
Posted by baseball55 on September 6, 2016, at 19:10:46
In reply to Therapist keeps falling asleep, posted by Rockerr on September 5, 2016, at 17:29:59
Well, 5-8 seconds isn't long, but long enough I guess to be distracting. If a therapist isn't there in the room with you a 100% then you should find someone who can be. Would you pay to take college classes with a teacher who was dozing in and out? Or pay a plumber who kept nodding off on your dime?
The problem with therapy is that patients can become so emotionally enmeshed in the process that they let behaviors go that are completely unprofessional. Remember that you are paying this therapist. It is a professional relationship.
> My therapist seems to briefly fall asleep a few times. I asked him about it, he said he was not asleep. I thought it was odd since it was clear to be he had briefly dozed off (5-8 seconds). He does not typically close his eyes for a few seconds at a time and after 3 years seeing him this has happened in the last 18 months.
>
> Surprised and confused he said he wasn't sleeping, I consulted a friend of mine who fired my therapist. My therapist told me never to refer anyone to him again as loaded for me when my friend fired him. Anyways without my prompting him my friend told me he fired my therapist mostly because it was a bad fit but when he fell asleep on him multiple times my friend said that was all he could take and fired him.
>
> I'm not sure what to do. I like this therapist we have made progress but I really don't know how to handle him falling asleep and then denying it.
Posted by Rockerr on September 7, 2016, at 5:14:46
In reply to Re: Therapist keeps falling asleep » Rockerr, posted by baseball55 on September 6, 2016, at 19:10:46
I agree with what you've written.
However, I raise the issue again w the T, he adamantly
Denies falling asleep and says that my need for contact and attunement is so high that I find normal swings in attention intolerable. That's true. But I really don't know what to do in this situation I believe he is telling the truth he is not falling asleep but he certainly appears to not be present.
And to your thought that he needs to be present 100%...he said I asked him that same thing said I'm laying you to attend to me in this room he said you are and the problem is that your need for 100 percent attunement is so high and you're constantly seeking evidence someone is not attune to you. Again this is also true. However I'm still left with the idea that even if he isn't asleep he seems to be not present and I think it's odd he says it's my neurosis. This guy understands me very well. I don't know what to do and it's really maddening.
Posted by baseball55 on September 7, 2016, at 20:11:03
In reply to Re: Therapist keeps falling asleep » baseball55, posted by Rockerr on September 7, 2016, at 5:14:46
Yeah. This is where therapy issues get tricky. Is he really not present and attuned to you, or are you so needy and fearful that you interpret any lapse in attention as outright abandonment. I had the same issues when I first did therapy a decade ago. Nothing he could have said or done would convince me that he didn't, secretly, hate me.
But I was able to talk to him about this (it seems you are also) and, on a rational level, I knew the problem was with me and not him (you seem not so sure about this). For me, the bottom line was - do I feel better, on the whole, after seeing him or not. And, mostly, I felt better and looked forward to seeing him again.
> I agree with what you've written.
> However, I raise the issue again w the T, he adamantly
> Denies falling asleep and says that my need for contact and attunement is so high that I find normal swings in attention intolerable. That's true. But I really don't know what to do in this situation I believe he is telling the truth he is not falling asleep but he certainly appears to not be present.
> And to your thought that he needs to be present 100%...he said I asked him that same thing said I'm laying you to attend to me in this room he said you are and the problem is that your need for 100 percent attunement is so high and you're constantly seeking evidence someone is not attune to you. Again this is also true. However I'm still left with the idea that even if he isn't asleep he seems to be not present and I think it's odd he says it's my neurosis. This guy understands me very well. I don't know what to do and it's really maddening.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.