Quote:
Originally Posted by archipelago
I'm curious though. You cite Partless who makes a point about tighter boundaries. Do you think that this therapist had loose boundaries because he tolerated an angry outburst even when it started to make him wonder? Or do you think he had good boundaries because he was able to control his personal response and realize it was not him being attacked, but the patient's needs to be angry? One is about controlling the behavior in the environment. The other is more about controlling the effects of internal/interpersonal relating and especially countertransference.
|
I agree with Skies and Lauliza, and just wanted to clarify what I said because I think perhaps you misunderstand what I meant by "tighter boundaries." I did not mean that in positive way, implying the opposite being loose and somehow bad. I meant tight in the sense of protecting therapist and his/her interests more and allowing less room for flexibility and patience (which perhaps comes from training or experience or personality) needed in dealing with more difficult patients or unpredictable behavior. In other words, I think you are lucky to have such a therapist, but that in my experience that is not the norm (though I don't think you were suggesting it is).