What do you think about a therapist texting their clients? My therapist will text me between sessions. It used to be to check in because I went through a fairly unstable time. Now it is normally once in between every session or every other session just to say she's thinking of me- normally an inside joke or something we share. For me it solidifies the relationship and I recognize there are still boundaries but I've talked with others who say this is totally inappropriate??

My therapist will text me about my appointment stuff or regarding stuff she’s asked for between sessions. My individual supervisor and I text. I work with teens so I use it. I’m super comfortable with it but you are going find therapists who aren’t comfortable with technology. I’ve noticed that it’s definitely a thing with a subset of therapists - technology is awful, you can’t do anything online, etc. Ethically, it was the wild west for a while but now more guidelines are in place (including around informed consent and being really explicit about how confidentiality may be impacted if you agree to text, etc).

Technology can be incredibly useful. Online session, texting and email all can be used to good effect. I’ve established clear boundaries around the use of these things and what my response time will be. But I found it to be extremely beneficial to the client’s progress and the therapeutic relationship as a whole when used appropriately. (It should go without saying that, yes there should be boundaries around these things - just like with phone calls and sessions.) I don’t do it with every client and what that looks like varies client to client. Some clients need a text over the weekend because they are struggling. Sometimes it’s a check in about major or stressful. Sometimes it’s around appointment setting or to ask about needing a phone check in. Before any of this happens, we talk about it in session and explore what, if anything, may come up for them. What you and your therapist do sounds very similar to way I am with clients.