I am so glad that people are "being real" here in this thread. And I am also glad that folks are being civil about everything! I have been in therapy for years, with many different therapists, so I have seen all kinds and all kinds of techniques. I began therapy when I was around 27, when I realized that I was having difficulty in relating in a satisfactory way with others. I grew up in a home with love, but alas, my mother and dad both had mental (personality) disorders, so I received a lot of emotional abuse. I spent a year in therapy, but just couldn't get through the wall I had built up. However, I was helped enough that I could marry and start a family. Several years later, my new family and I moved back into the area where my former T was, and I spent three years in weekly therapy with her. During that time, I became one of those patients who worshipped the ground my T walked on, talked about her all the time, and somewhat wrapped my life around her. I even missed her greatly when she was away, and I would have been one of the people here who would be posting about that kind of thing and about being excited about her doing things like hugging me. After all, she was "re-parenting" me. She was the loving, caring, uncritical mother I never had. And in the process she was working on healing me emotionally. But I never abandoned my IRL family!

We moved away and I have had a number of T's off and on since then. I continue to work on various issues. Ten years ago I was diagnosed as bipolar II, so I deal with that on a day to day basis, for example. I am very pleased with the T I have now. However, I don't think about her all the time, get upset when she's away, etc. Yet, I do contend that real therapy comes down to a relationship between two people--not just some formula. That's why it's important to find one that a person feels comfortable with. No T will be perfect, but most of the ones I have had have come across as "caring," given my definition, anyway.

When people post on this thread, obviously they are writing about aspects of therapy that they are so happy about or so upset or concerned about that they want to share them with others. I don't recall that I have posted here much at all since I have been at PC.

I do recommend therapy often to people. So does "Dear Abby." Please keep in mind that what you read here is probably a somewhat skewed perspective on therapy--I don't mean that in a negative way, however! People seek out therapy for many reasons, and many kinds of therapy exist.

I hope I have helped some. After all, I can assure all of you that I DO care!