I saw a comic at some time in the recent past. It was two Psychologists/Psychiatrists having a conversation. It went something like:
A:“So he asked if they should try an open relationship, I said yes.”
B:“So when’s the divorce?”
C: something along the lines of ‘it’s happening as we speak’.
And it got me thinking about a similar response I had when talking to my therapist (also in the far distant past). The response was similar, but due to situations and events, I never got around to any sexual experimentation, and my marriage is a happy one.
So the question is: If your client is questioning their sexuality, and they’re married, is there some required response that they a) seek to scratch that itch because b) if they’re asking it, their relationship is over?
Or is it something more subtle than that?
Mostly I’m interested in the context, and the fact it’d been made into a joke in a cartoon, it sounds like a ‘thing’.
I was just wondering if there was something in the *apist handbook that says "If they mention anything other than monogamy, tell 'em to go right ahead and explore away…and hand them a referral to a divorce lawyer…
“What’s this for?”
“Oh, nothing, just keep it in your wallet, just in case.”
Like the odds of your spouse being down with it are vanishingly small…but not zero, so go let your freak flag fly.