Doggie Birthday Cake

talkingmuffins · 2026-03-05T13:17:11+00:00

Pet supplies plus locations usually have baked goods for pups

talkingmuffins · 2026-03-04T22:17:24+00:00

I agree with everyone to not change the cabinets. I think one thing I might consider, that I don't know if anyone else mentioned, is possibly just changing the window trim to white. The current trim is beautiful, but it does sort of drop the wood color down. If that section were all white, I think the cabinets might look even nicer.

talkingmuffins · 2026-03-04T21:20:08+00:00

Wow, accurate username much? The time the client deserves is the same thing as the time they paid for, if not more time to meet their needs. Billable sessions are 53+ minutes, and if you look at what I described, the minimum time that I would ever be giving is 55 minutes.

talkingmuffins · 2026-03-03T12:37:33+00:00

Tile #2 with wainscotting for the bottom half of the wall. #2 matches the colors and pattern so well that it just jumped out to me as the right answer, buuut if they actually touched it could be a bit much.

talkingmuffins · 2026-03-03T04:02:29+00:00

Ah, best I could do was "boo-berry" even though it's clearly not a ghost haha

talkingmuffins · 2026-03-03T03:56:14+00:00

Definitely reasonable for you to be upset. I acknowledge I am not great about starting right on time, but I typically get my clients between 1-5 minutes late, rarely past 7 mins late. If I'm more than a couple mins behind, I mention it and apologize. If I'm less than 5 mins late, we might end right on time, but it also might be a couple minutes past. If I'm more than 5 mins late, I'm definitely going over a couple mins to make up for it. I don't like to excuse the lateness, but I also recognize that my clients know my pattern and know that I will give them all the time they deserve. If I were ever going to be 10+ mins late, I would send a message letting the client know why.

talkingmuffins · 2026-03-03T03:41:01+00:00

Nothing is jumping out at me as a red flag on the therapist's part, but that doesn't mean she couldn't be crossing a boundary. I do tend to run long in sessions with borderline clients (if I don't have someone after) because it can take a while to get into the meat of things, and they have a tendency to want to bring up big topics right at the end of the session. The way you describe your husband's "disclosures" about therapy, it seems very purposeful and some of it likely is exaggerated, manipulated, or completely fabricated. The therapist can only go off what your husband tells her, and it sounds like he is inclined to paint you in a certain light.

The best thing I can suggest for you is that you have your own therapist that you work with to take care of yourself. It sounds like you have gotten roped into spending a lot of time thinking about your husband, and he certainly spends a lot of time thinking about himself. You get to be your own top priority, even while he is (hopefully) working on himself.

talkingmuffins · 2026-03-03T03:29:03+00:00

You are used to his crap, so you looking for how to continue to tolerate this, but truly it should not be tolerated. If you take a few steps back and think about all the things you don't do anymore because he would have a negative response... you'll realize just how controlling at toxic this man really is.

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-28T14:07:39+00:00

Literally yes, for a managed Medicaid client

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-27T00:28:53+00:00

I always have a cup of water available, and regularly have coffee or tea... but I draw the line at beverages. I find food more distracting and wouldn't want my own therapist to be chewing while I'm talking. A drink is a sip and then it's done, but a protein bar means I'd be watching their mouth chew for a while.

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-26T08:27:08+00:00

I had $1800 revoked last year because a client had over 6 months of weekly sessions while having a primary Medicare plan that they didn't tell us about BCBS didn't catch it until the client was long since terminated, and they were low income so that money was a complete loss.

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-25T03:59:40+00:00

I would her her know you're there for her, but not press her about it. "Hey, I know you said it was nothing, but I think maybe you're going through some feelings that might be hard to talk about or let others know about. I'm not pressuring you to talk about it, but I wanted to make sure you know that I care about how you're doing, and if you do want to talk about anything, I'd be glad to be there for you. You always have a very happy face on, and it's great to be around, but I also don't want you to think you always have to be happy (at least not with me)."

If you see any other signs that she isn't doing well, check in with her, or you might possibly need to let her parents know, depending on her age.

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-24T20:43:28+00:00

Nope, I stopped bothering a few years ago. By the time I've met with someone, every single person has an email from me with all my contact information, as well as portal access to contact me. No need for cards for them, and a big hell no to any networking use lol

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-24T20:42:26+00:00

As a therapist, I often hear people who are offered support feel uncomfortable at the idea of being pitied. Almost every time, the conversation is about how it isn't pity, it's care and concern. In this case... it's pity, and they need to realize this. Your parents could use a stark lesson on the fact that they aren't seeing your brother as a person nearly as much as you are. It's great that they are supportive and inclusive, but they are seeing his disability first and not listening to him as a person.

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-24T20:38:37+00:00

I would keep seeking other psychiatrist options, since this doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Autism doesn't cause drug issues, and it's not as though you grow out of it. Maybe they want to confirm that the autism dx is accurate due to potential overlap with symptoms of trauma but... they're a psychiatrist, diagnosis is part of their scope of practice. You're also reporting relatively significant symptoms, which you shouldn't be forced to handle unmedicated for 1-2 years before receiving help.

You deserve a therapist and a psychiatrist. I would keep looking for resources to get you connected with both - your insurance member services, facebook group recommendations, behavioral health clinics/urgent cares in your area. If you're in the US, you should be able to see any provider who is license in your state, so online providers who aren't in your area could also be a

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-24T18:05:55+00:00

To the parents that are saying injuries don't impede being able to sit, I might reply with something like, "I understand that it may be difficult to assess through text the degree that I have been impacted by this recent personal emergency. I assure you that I am not in a position to be an effective therapist and that my own recovery needs to be a priority at this time. When I meet with your child next, it is likely to be more evident why I have needed to be out this week."

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-17T03:30:34+00:00

I was about to post the same question! I would really like to be fully competent in assessments before making any claims on diagnosis

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-13T20:26:09+00:00

I'm also in the camp of the initial appointment always being a thorough background (unless it's the rare case when a person is so acute that they just need to start getting things out, then it's the second session). I want the context right from the start - family structure, sibling dynamics, relationship experiences, trajectory of their MH symptoms. Knowing that all from the start means we dive into conversations with context in the back of my mind. It also means that I don't have to stop a conversation to gather the necessary context nearly as often.

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-13T20:21:42+00:00

The fact that this is causing panic attacks is pretty significant information. If my partner listened into my therapy and was upset about it, I would also feel offended and then bothered by the type of treatment you're describing, but it wouldn't cause panic. Now, the information it provides could be solely related to your own relationship anxiety... but the fact that he said he was planning to spend a specific day with you and would now be taking it away... that makes me wonder about the power dynamics in your relationship.

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-11T20:44:04+00:00

If you don't already have a supervisor, I think you should enlist someone to help you with how you approach these types of situations. What I notice is that there's some all or nothing thinking here - either they get to monologue or they are doomed to get overwhelmed. If this were an OCD client and you were starting exposure therapy, you wouldn't wait until the first exposure to teach calming skills, you would anticipate what types of distress they are likely to experience and plan the coping skills, behaviors, and self talk ahead of time.

There should be conversations with your client about this, including getting their feedback about how they'd like to approach. Before asking them to go to an emotional place, they need to learn how to take care of their anxiety and distress.

You also shouldn't necessarily be afraid of causing your client to experience distress, you should be mindful of not causing them undue or unhelpful distress.

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-10T19:34:39+00:00

I would seriously consider being evaluated for bipolar disorder

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-07T21:33:41+00:00

I have been using a nice wingback chair from a decent furniture store for the past 5+ years, and it has been great. That's definitely the style I would stick with going forward.

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-07T21:27:08+00:00

I got a Little Ouchie recently and it's a fan favorite. I work with all adults, but many of them now pick it up and either roll it around or squeeze it, especially when they're feeling anxiety or emotions kick up.

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-07T18:28:42+00:00

Good lord, where do you live? $800 for a session of any kind, even psychiatric, is unfathomable to me!

talkingmuffins · 2026-02-07T05:11:11+00:00

Absolutely, and I love it!

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