But Cats, that's one of the problems when the boundaries become too fluid. You'd like her to talk to you in a more professional manner, but at the same time you also want her to continue doing things that friends or family would do. It's way too confusing and difficult to have a relationship where the rules keep changing. And it also recreates dynamics of abuse, where a child is a child only until the parent expects the child to be an adult that serves the parent's needs. Your T rescues you like a parent would until she apparently gets irritated by your behavior and then she expects you to act like an adult. There's no way you can ever really know what's expected of you in the relationship.
It's one thing to have a dual relationship because you can't avoid running into each other or maybe you're both members of the same organization or church, because in those situations you can still maintain a more professional or at least an acquaintance-like distance. What you describe are relationship dynamics that change more or less on a whim -- from your T rescuing you, to enjoying certain activities together, to telling you to be an adult -- and it seems to be on her terms, so you never know what to expect. The professionalism only seems to exist when she wants it to exist.
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Conversation with my therapist:
Doc: "You know, for the past few weeks you've seemed very disconnected from your emotions when you're here."
Me: "I'm not disconnected from my emotions. I just don't feel anything when I'm here."
(Pause)
Me: "Doc, why are you banging your head against the arm of your chair?"
Doc: "Because I'm not close enough to a wall."
It's official. I can even make therapists crazy.
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