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sunrise said:
One thing I do have a bit of trouble accepting is that T and I have a "real" relationship. I don't feel we do. But he says that what we have is "real." It doesn't feel real to me because I pay him to have this relationship with me. He is doing it because he is paid and it is his job. It isn't truly authentic or real because of the payment/job aspect. It's like he isn't engaging with me because he wants to of his own free will, but because I am forking over the cash. But yet, I do feel warmth and affection and love toward him, and I feel the warmth and affection he projects to me. But yet it is not real. He is paid. I have bigtime problems with this paradox.

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Along these lines, I read a therapist's view on this issue in a book I am reading called Their Finest Hour: Master Therapists Share Their Greatest Success Stories, in which therapist Jeffrey Kottler says this about receiving payment:

"For me, money issues have always gotten in the way. There is something about being paid for helping others that pollutes the purity of the experience. The greatest pleasure (for me) involves making a difference in someone's life when there is only intrinsic satisfaction."

I found it really interesting to read a therapist's view on this.

It's an interesting book all around. I've only read the first two case studies, but they've already given me much to think about.