Quote:
Originally Posted by Tollhouse
Yes they are. They are trained to present unconditional acceptance and positive regard.
They use technique to build the relationship... such as restating what the client says to show empathetic understanding, mirroring of behaviors and speech, etc.
Can you imagine having the ability to work with a child sex abuser? A relationship there?
If you read the literature it says Ts need to find one thing to "like" about a client. They may not LIKE the client, but maybe they like the client's interest in art or the client's sense of humor.
The entire setting is fake.
|
What you said is true, but it's not FAKE. Some therapist purposely don't work with abusers because they can't find empathy for them - my former therapist told me that he was one of those such people who couldn't work with them because of his history with helping people who've been impacted by abuse.
But obviously some people can.
It's a real relationship. DIFFERENT, yes. But not fake. If every therapist was a huge fake, I think most clients would be able to tell and would just quit.