Agreed, sunrise, his is an adversarial stance. Rather than seeing a needy client as preparing to attach a hose to suck him dry, I'd rather see a T whose perspective saw a needy client as a person who does not have confidence in their own ability to save themselves, or as a person who has been taught not to be independent. If a person has a dysfunctional way of relating to others, it 1. came about for good reason, and 2. can't change until it is viewed compassionately as the coping method it is.

I suppose some people thrive with someone who take this T's approach, but I'm not one of them.