So, I flipped this around a bit and asked myself "what would my reaction have been if my T had said "no I do not treat offenders""?

At first I would have been like "yeah T!! Way to stick up for us!"

But with thought, I can promise you that I would have gotten equally as upset, and very likely thought a lot less of my therapist.

I mean he has all these skills and all this training, but he's going to pick and choose who is "good enough" to get his help?

That would not be fair, and IMO would not be ethical.

He offers help to all comers, and that is to be respected, even admired.

As far as safety is concerned, I've just got to be realistic here. It's not like my therapist is going to let an offender just have at me! In fact, if something did happen, I'm confident he would work like hell to intervene and put the guy in jail!

I likely pass several offenders a day on the street, and ride on the bus with them. I might even work with one!

The chair I sit in at my therapist's office is far from sacrosanct. What gives it meaning is my butt in it, and not the person's before.

What makes therapy safe is the relationship I have with my T, not the room or the furniture or the light fixtures or the magazines. It's him. And that's just the fact of the matter and it hasn't changed one bit.

I don't know if I'm finished processing this, but I'm moving toward resolution. As long as I'm moving, hopefully in a positive manner, I guess that's all that matters.