What Do You Do When You See Your Therapist In Public?
The day is last Monday, February 2. I'm scheduled to have my last session with my therapist. I'm leaving town for a month and want to make sure I'm mentally balanced. Highly unlikely but...
The day before, Chicago is hit with a snowstorm, blizzard, Armageddon. 15-20 inches of snow. It's Chicago in February, this occasionally happens.
Sunday night I get a call from my therapist. The clinic is opening late due to the snow. Your 10am session is cancelled but can you make it in at 3pm?
I'm good with that. I have errands to run to get ready for my trip. This fits in better. I leave her a voice mail saying see ya at 3.
The next morning I head off to take care of business and guess who I see on the train platform?
I was more than a little surprised to see her. Who ever expects that to happen? It led to this pleasant exchange...
Howie- Ummmm hi Therapist- Hello H- So do we chat or what? T- That's up to you! H- ummmm..How about we talk at 3.
and I ran off....
So at 3pm, my first words were "long time no see." We both laughed and it felt less awkward.
The next 20 minutes were spent on ground rules, privacy and what to do when it happens again. It was a pretty interesting topic but did it help my sanity...not really but it was cool.
The episode reminded me that health professionals are regular people. They have somewhat normal lives and even live in the same neighborhoods as us.
So now I'm prepared....sort of.
My last question to her was "I'm going to California for a month. No plans on vacationing there, right?" She isn't.
Talking about California...what if i have a mental health emergency while I'm here? What then?
Well Los Angeles is a town of millions trying to work in the "industry". Most are working at Starbucks.
I'm pretty sure there's a therapist or two out here!
If you liked this post, try this one about my Therapist break-up or this one about hugging my therapist. Both pretty, pretty good!
And hey....if you don't want to see me back in therapy, subscribe to my blog. Much cheaper than a therapy session Type your email address in the box and click the "create subscription" button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.