Without a doubt there can be iatrogenic effects from psychotherapy. Even Freud noticed that a lot of his female patients fell in love with him.

It is a painful, but rather interesting complication of therapy.

On one hand developing loving feelings for your therapist is a natural and good thing. I think it means that when someone is nice and attentive to us, we can response in a meaningful and appropriate way. We want to be around them. Makes perfect sense to me.

On the other hand, WTH? We don't even know this person and yet here we are, ascribing all of these feelings to the therapist. We have to absorb all of this rejection (whether perceived or real I don't know) and somehow in the end, it all gets resolved and we are better people for it. In that sense, it's totally absurd.

I know a lot of what Freud interpreted has largely been discredited, but the man did make some good points. He contended that the client can not "win" in the transference. Otherwise, the client will continue those same behaviors in relationships outside of therapy and remained locked, usually in the same issues that brought them to therapy in the first place.

The therapist should model and remain steadfast, thus providing the client new way of interacting.

I do agree that the perils of psychotherapy should be laid out more clearly to the patient. In every disclosure, consent etc... there should be a clause that very very clearly states "this is going to suck, the goal of therapy is to make things suck less."

I mean even cancer patients are very clearly told that, with chemotherapy, they might get worse before they get better and, even then, there are no guarantees.