I had this problem with a friend of mine who for months now couldn't stop whining and complaining about her problem. It frustrated me, it wore me out. It made me pull back, then she felt rejected and lonely. So I let her tell me all about things again and I tried to help but she refused any type of help - all she wanted was to dwell in her problem.
So I talked about this with my therapist and she says in her job they have a name for people like my friend: “help-rejecting complainers”. She says that there is a new school of thought emerging within her profession which advocates that therapists set stricter rules for "complainers" who don't want to hear advice or get any help. Some even terminate these clients and tell them to come back when they feel ready to move on or really work on things. Or they "ban" overvisited topics for a few sessions. She sent me a link to this article this morning (below) to help me get the situation with my friend into perspective.
And I don't quite know what to think about it.
My therapist greatly supports these therapists who take a stricter stance on complainers and says she has terminated with clients who seemed to just want the attention but not do the work.

What do you think? I am interested in how you guys feel about this. I feel a bit torn - on one side I believe my therapist definitely has a point on the other hand I wonder what this does to the unconditional positive regard standpoint.

How to Stop Whining: In Therapy, a Move to Tough Love - WSJ.com