What if you see your therapist at a bar or event?

’Tis the season— the sun is out, the crazy work period is over— and you might see you therapist on a patio or at a festival...

...and there’s that moment of… what do I do here?

My policy is: it’s your call.

If you see me out somewhere, I won’t come up to you. That’s a principle I stick to, because I don’t want to assume anything about whether you want to be seen with me or not, or who you’re with.

I will smile if we make eye contact — the same way I would with anyone — but I’ll leave it there unless you choose otherwise.

If you do want to come say hi, you’re absolutely welcome to. I’m always happy to chat. We just keep it normal, not therapy. No diving into session stuff in the middle of a bar.

And if you don’t want to say anything, that’s completely fine too. You can ignore me, pretend you didn’t see me — there’s zero meaning attached to that on my end.

Different therapists handle this differently, but this is my rule of thumb: I won’t initiate, you get to choose.

Also, just to say — I generally run sober (maybe a glass here and there), so if you ever see me out, I won't be in an inebriated state of any kind. And I will never judge if you are! I remember the first time I saw my own therapist (off her face) out at a festival — it was actually a nice reminder that she was human too. :)

That’s it really. There’s no strict protocol, just do what feels comfortable in the moment.

See you in the sunshine. ;)

Leslie

Hey— Big Mountain’s 0.5% gluten-free beer is just amazing, FYI. They serve it at the Marmotte d’Or and it’s my favourite.