My therapist asked me to show her my injuries, but I believe she wanted to see them to see how serious they were. I do not think she would have made me if I did not want to.
yes four of them (i have moved around a lot for school and such and this SI route has been long…) i asked each one of them why they wanted to see this? the first one just wanted to make sure that i did not need immediate medical attention. another wanted to see the extent to which i had gone for evaluative purposes in the intake session. another just let me come up with the answer and it is something along the lines of b/c my SI is such a personal thing showing my injuries is like a letting down of my guard a permission for someone else to acknowledge my experience of pain (physical/mental) the fourth, who i am working with now, asked in relation to my emotional struggle with what to do now that i no longer SI but still have such obvious visual reminders of that time. often when they asked i felt thrown for a loop but i realized by asking why they wanted to see them we could have a discussion that gave me a sense of control and options… if one of them gave an answer that was not satisfactory we would talk until i felt comfortable enough… esp. with the intake evaluation guy… i said not yet, but after we talked for awhile longer i showed him… on my terms… i hope you find something that works for you
Some therapists ask to see scars and marks in order to judge the degree of severity of self harm. Unfortunately some therapists also believe that the severity (or lack there of) is relational to the pain we experience on the inside too… which isn’t always true. Just because someone didn’t need stitches, doesn’t mean they aren’t hurting as much as someone who did and visa versa.
my therapist never asked.
My therapist asked. But then made me show her.
Liz,
How did she make you show her?
My therapist asked me to show her my injuries, but I believe she wanted to see them to see how serious they were. I do not think she would have made me if I did not want to.
yes four of them (i have moved around a lot for school and such and this SI route has been long…) i asked each one of them why they wanted to see this? the first one just wanted to make sure that i did not need immediate medical attention. another wanted to see the extent to which i had gone for evaluative purposes in the intake session. another just let me come up with the answer and it is something along the lines of b/c my SI is such a personal thing showing my injuries is like a letting down of my guard a permission for someone else to acknowledge my experience of pain (physical/mental) the fourth, who i am working with now, asked in relation to my emotional struggle with what to do now that i no longer SI but still have such obvious visual reminders of that time. often when they asked i felt thrown for a loop but i realized by asking why they wanted to see them we could have a discussion that gave me a sense of control and options… if one of them gave an answer that was not satisfactory we would talk until i felt comfortable enough… esp. with the intake evaluation guy… i said not yet, but after we talked for awhile longer i showed him… on my terms… i hope you find something that works for you
Some therapists ask to see scars and marks in order to judge the degree of severity of self harm. Unfortunately some therapists also believe that the severity (or lack there of) is relational to the pain we experience on the inside too… which isn’t always true. Just because someone didn’t need stitches, doesn’t mean they aren’t hurting as much as someone who did and visa versa.