Since there was so little to read about bad therapy, I read about cults--for bad therapy seemed to be a cult for two--and "traumatic bonding."

I had repeatedly remind myself that the therapist wasn't really rescuing or helping me, despite the illusion they created. As author Marilyn Peterson points out, we're conditioned to respect authority figures. A therapist has no authority over us, no supernatural wisdom. They're people who took some courses in graduate school.

There's can be a large gap between how a relationship is labeled and its reality.