SophiaG: actually she was in her final practicum before becoming a T. I made her choose another career... I later found out that was the intent of the director of the clinic when he paired me with her.

To stay sorta on topic... I think she was a polar opposite of a cynic... The epitomy of "don't worry, be happy", great yellow smiley faces and the like. I was there for severe PTSD and she said you are safe now, just be happy! ... I think my cynicism was 1. an accurate perception of my reality (even now some 12 yrs later) and 2. significantly healthier than her "don't worry, be happy" attitude that made her totally miss that she was being thrown out of her degree program 2nd semester of her final year.

A friend who had worked as a T once told me that he worried less about the cynics and the depressed as they at least have accurate reality testing which (in his opinion) cannot often be said of those we consider "healthy". The world sucks, is unsafe, and depressing... THAT is reality, not pretending to live the American dream by making sure you have a nice house with a white picket fence, 2.5 kids and what ever the popular dog is that season.