Quote:
Originally Posted by LearningMe01
I love almost everything you wrote here, Moon. But I have to disagree with one thing. I don't believe entering a sexual/romantic/friendship relationship with a former client is always damaging. I do understand how it could be , in many cases. But in some situations, maybe it is just love, nothing to do with therapy, just love. And If you love someone, you want them to know everything about you...so the fact that the therapist knows your "deepest, darkest secrets" shouldn't be in issue. Yes, I understand that it is NEVER supposed to happen. But I feel as though maybe, in some cases, two people will miss a chance at "true love" simply because some psychology board is trying to "protect" them. Of course, I do believe that in most cases it is the client who harbors the "romantic" feelings, and not the therapist...but sometimes I'm a "what if" thinker.
That is simply the way I feel, I'm not saying I'm right or wrong, but I do know what's good for me and what's potentially dangerous for me, I don't need anyone else to tell me what I need.
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Thanks for saying this leaningme. I am glad I am not the only one who thinks this.
This is such a good thread. I am struggling with ET with my T currently and coming to terms with the clinical concept of erotic transference, and is why i have come here to PC.
I am sure that the transference I am feeling towards my T does have to do with some unmet early childhood needs from my parents, but who is not to say that it isn't 'love' between a client and T? I dislike that the psych community hides behind the clinical ideas of what transference is and use it as a reason to why the feelings come up in T.
What makes this harder for me is knowing that my T went through his own counter transference with 'sexual' feelings for me last year. He spent many weeks working through his issues with this, while keeping the therapy safe for me, but it does make me wonder if more is going on then just him having some unresolved past issues brought into the therapy setting by me. He says this is the first time this has ever happened to him in 20 years of doing therapy.
Anyways, thanks again for being brave enough to say this.
