Sorry I didn't respond directly to what you were saying in your post, Chopin. I do believe that some clients often view their therapists as providing what they "never got" from their parents, and they perhaps see their therapists as giving them that kind of parental support and guidance they never got. Personally, I don't view my therapist as being "parental" in her guidance. I truly see her as a mentor; someone who guides and supports me in my journey for a deeper understanding of my own issues. I'm pretty good at seeing issues that others have in their own journey for self awakening/self awareness, but when it comes to myself, I stumble around blindly and often get horribly stuck. I rely on her ability to see things from afar. I'm too close to my own problems that I can't see the "forest through the trees!"

There are times in therapy that I feel about twelve. This is where I got stuck in my own development. But even though that's pretty young, considering my advanced age , I still don't see my therapist as a parental figure. She's about six or seven years older than me and we have so many similar views on life due to the closeness in our ages. It makes us laugh a bit when one of us mentions something from the sixties or seventies . .. things that others I interact with have no idea about because they weren't born yet. She gets it! I love the fact that we have that common ground in our relationship. It helps me to feel truly seen and understood.

I get what you're saying though about how your therapist is providing what you missed in your own childhood. I think it's a pretty common feeling for a lot of people in therapy. Nice to have that kind of connection and support!