Dear Julie:

I read your post following mine attentively. You wrote that you can’t bring yourself to see yet another therapist and you will therefore give this one more time. Did you already tell her about your reservations, about her telling you that she will test you for anxiety, depression etc. regularly after the first July testing, but did not follow through… ?

Did you tell her that you have little confidence in her suggestion of only belly breathing and visualizing exercise (as I understood it) as adequate before your next blood test?

Express to her your honest thoughts and feelings- competent therapy has to be a place where you do express your honest thoughts and feelings about the therapist and the content of the therapy with her.

Another point: regarding the inner child/ parent ongoing exercise I suggested; you wrote: ” I beat myself up daily that I should be more active and exercising, out walking …” When you beat yourself up, that is the parent part of you beating up the scared child part of you. The parent part of you needs to be empathetic, gentle, kind, patient, always, with the inner child. Never beating her up.

anita