Ah, yes, I have to be fair.
Having raised the issue of the 'Last Minute Bomb', thanks to a reader who kindly *grin* directed me to an article by John Grohol over at PsychCentral - The 12 most annoying bad habits of therapists.
Only 12 you say?
Read the article for more depth but basically the list of therapeutic crimes reads as follows:
Showing up late for appointments Sometimes a delay can't be helped if an earlier scheduled client is experiencing a crisis situation. Having a buffer time between clients helps minimise that likelihood.
Eating in front of a client You really don't need to see me eating my lunch. However, I do have a drink of water to hand and I always offer clients tea/water to drink before starting.
Excessive yawning/sleeping during session zZzzzZzz. If I did this to a client, I'd expect them to be looking for a new therapist.
Inappropriate disclosure Therapist disclosure has to be kept to a minimum and used with excessive care. I could spend hours sharing my snake phobia with you and explore why I moved to a country with so many venemous snakes but shouldn't the session really be about you, not me?
Being impossible to reach by phone or email This is where I usually err but in the opposite direction. I believe it is important to be available but boundary setting is critical (and a work in progress on my part!).
Disturbed by phone/cell phone/computer Guilty on occasions. The practice where I work has no land line and I leave my mobile phone on mute for ease of use in an emergency. I don't want to wait minutes to get network (ah, Optus). I always explain this to new clients and everyone is fine with that. Occasionally, either because of my technical ignorance or the pecularities of the iPhone, the mute doesn't work. It's unfortunate and I apologise and reject the call/silence the phone.
Expressing racial/sexual/musical/lifestyle/religious preferences Ha. Might freak clients out totally if only they knew of my musical tastes! An 80s tragic (but, I hasten to add, no MC Hammer harem pants even if they are back in fashion).
Bringing your pet to therapy sessions What all six? That would be a madhouse indeed.
Hugging and physical contact Guilty in part. I have never initiated hugging but clients have hugged me. They have usually asked first and as this has typically happened at the end of therapy, I haven't minded. The most poignant time was for a client who had terminal cancer where we knew this would be our last meeting ever.
Inappropriate displays of wealth/dress I don't think I'll ever have to worry about the first. I'm way too much of a Brit for the second.
Clock watching Wonder why the clock sits directly behind you? When I'm running clients without a break inbetween, I must keep an eye on time and while I usually have a rough idea of how long the session has been running, it's helpful to check out time on occasions. This way I can keep track without explicitly diverting my attention from the client.
Excessive note-taking I used to be guilty of this when I first started out. I think that's possibly true for most therapists. Now I just note keywords to jog my memory later. Sorry, but I'm aging!
Years ago, I had a therapist who used to crack his knuckles incessantly which drove me insane. A good therapist, I managed my reaction to that. What wasn't managable was his insistence on smoking in sessson (obviously in more smoker-friendly times) and that was enough cause to change therapist for me. Those 'crimes' didn't make the list though.
So...anything else missing?
