((((((((((((sunrise)))))))))))

So many of the things you expressed in your opening paragraph I have questioned about myself as of late. But the one thing that I have realized is that, if you feel as though your therapy is beneficial to you, is helping you in some fundamental way, chances are it is. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I disagree strongly with what was said in the quotation that you provided. I am in the middle of pursuing a career as a counsellor myself, and I have yet to find any support to what that man says. Sure it can be tough and "energy-draining," but that comes with the nature of the job. I actually feel sorry for him, and for his clients, for having that attitude. Saying that the relationships that you may or may not have lacked in childhood are impossible to reconstitute in adulthood is just plain baloney. Obviously you can never have the *same* relationship in adulthood, but certainly you can work to achieve a similar working relationship, that would then extend into your life outside of therapy (a major goal of the therapeutic process). How could one ever expect anyone to develop functional relationships in one's life, if one has never had that experience in childhood, and they have absolutely no hope of achieving this through therapy or some other milieu? I'm calling ******** on this one.

I recently ended a significant therapeutic relationship in my life (finished university), and one of the major things that I took away from my experience with my own T is that sometimes, you just need to have someone to talk to, and who you know is in support of you. If that makes me "clingy" then fine, but I don't doubt for a second that my work with this T was beneficial, even if my concerns weren't "major" and our work largely consisted of forming a positive and trusting relationship with my T.

Having needs, or wanting that supportive relationship in your life doesn't make you week or needy, don't let anyone try and convince you of that. Unfortunately there will be people who choose to label it, or claim we're "energy vampires," but clearly those individuals don't have as much insight as they claim to have. Your T on the other hand, sounds very authentic and attuned to who you are; don't let this stranger allow you to question that.