I blame Facebook and Twitter for the needier client syndrome. LOL People have become way more self-centered and egotistical little babies.

As a Neuromuscular Massage Therapist myself it terrifies and angers me that there are therapist who are that ignorant to their own qualifications, ethics, and scope of practice they would even consider taking their clients phone calls for such a thing.

It's one thing to listen and empathize while with the client in your place of practice, but another entirely to "gladly give your opinion". It's crossing a boundary, and these individuals are ASKING to get sued.

We do not aid and ease their physical and emotional pain through analyzing their thoughts and talking them through hard times, we do it through the body work. And anything you say to them in that regard should ultimately have to do with health benefits with the work they are receiving.

Clients who inappropriately expect everyone from their hairstylist to their dentist to play shrink is all too common, in good economic times as well as bad. It may be more pronounced at the moment, but it's nothing new. I quit my job as a hairstylist years ago because I hated being so emotionally drained at the end of the day after dealing with so many relentlessly needy people who think sitting or lying down for a service means it's time to spill their guts to a relative stranger. I would often charge the worst offenders double, in hopes of driving them off. Sadly, it rarely worked.

Dr. Josephson, I'll tell you what is really scary--the fact that there are so many people like this in society today, even the ones in therapy. If people like you were actually helping your patients, they wouldn't be pouring their hearts out to people like me.

The problem was mentioned in the first line...
"With psychiatrists becoming an expendable luxury during tough times..."
Where are people to turn? The answer is they turn to other health care practitioners.
As a naturopathic doctor, I see this every day. While traditionally we get trained in rudimentary counseling skills, I have chosen to expand those skills so as to be of more use to my patients.
Frankly, I have lots of people coming to see me because I am NOT a psychiatrist. Lots of people have been down that road and don't like what it has to offer (an anti-depressant usually).
Their is a quote that I love that is relevant here... "Know what you know, know what you don't know and know the difference." Part of being a health care professional is knowing when you need to refer to someone who can help your patient more than you can. But this doesn't mean that you cannot be of service to people in these stressful times.

Stateof, ya feel better after that rant?

If you need therapy, cut back on the massages, hair treatments, and personal trainer sessions and get some therapy. There are therapists who will lower their fees for people who have financial setbacks, but probably not for people who can still afford to pay full price for some of the above services.

Of course there has to be boundaries, and basing an opinion on hearsay is also unprofessional, and shows disrespect for professional integrity in general.

Lots of people talk about stuff, often the dentists talk to the dental assistants about stuff, which can be therapeutic because you don't feel alone.

And often people phone the dentist due to a dental emergency, and maybe they have to wait for Daddy to come home and he may be shagging the secretary.

Maybe the patient does give too much information, but that is what people do when they let their guard down and they are in pain, which obviously this day and age is probably a rare luxury/event.

Often therapists can be scarry too, because they might assume the problem is just emotional, or the person wants attention, and often the physical situation, may actually show up when the person gets a haircut, like a scar on the back of the head, or a bruise on the back when they get massaged, or a chipped front tooth and cut lip or something.

I read a critique about Freud, and I am sure Freud never meant this to happen, but often patients are treats as intellectuals inferiors, or emotional, and these assumptions could be dismissing bigger issues which are situational, such as being bullied or abused emotionally and physically, where the home may not even be safe, and where a therapist may assume the person is making it up without ever entering the real situation, due to being so "professional".

Society has gotten to the point, where just talking becomes a commodity, no wonder it is breaking down.

At least in third world countries, people appear to be walking around talking to each other. and acting like a real community.

We of course have insurance, and depend on big businesses like Aig, aren't we better off. We, as a society are probably one of the poorest when it comes to acting human toward each other. It is worse than what George Orwell described in 1984, no wonder these social sites, and sexting are so popular with young people, probably has a generation, they may be the most isolated in history, and the tension builds up you know where, cause they are so alone.

I'm sorry, but this is an absurd story.

First of all, there is absolutely nothing new about people talking about their problems during services like these. In fact, it's so common that it's a cliche among hair stylists.

Second, therapists are not in the business of giving advice. They listen, reflect and may give the client tips about ways of monitoring their thinking, but their role is not advisement. A life coach might do that, but not a psychotherapist. I suspect what is making the interviewed folks uncomfortable is the intensity of feeling they are encountering. But it's just absurd to describe this as a new phenomenon.

Third, there have been many studies that call into question the necessity of seeing a $150-an-hour therapist. In one famous study, cab drivers were given rudimentary training in therapy "language" and they turned out to be just as effective as the actual therapists. As exploora notes, therapists fulfill a role that family and friends often serve in other cultures.

Fourth and disagreeing with StateofInitiative, body work often evokes feelings and thoughts that clients articulate. It can evoke outright catharsis too.

Oh, Gee ...We all need to vent at times...lighten up !

"Katie, an ophthalmologist who prefers that we not use her last name..."

Let me see... This blogger happens to call an ophthalmologist who dishes like a hairdresser? Am I hearing a writer padding her story here... a bit?

What's so new about personal service people being pop-shrinks? Everyone knows hairdressers are -- always have been, and if they didn't have those skills they wouldn't be business.

If someone snaps at their personal trainer, maybe they're having a lousy day. It certainly couldn't be about financial problems since THEY STILL CAN AFFORD A PERSONAL TRAINER!

I agree with the previous poster.

I have been a dental hygienist for over 20 years and I have heard some unbelievable stories about people's private lives. I can actually see (on their teeth) the effects of stress in their lives and when I mention this....then the flood gates open! I often feel like a psychotherapist even I try to do more listening and less advise giving.