Quote:
Originally Posted by Yearning0723
My T also doesn't see manipulation as a bad thing but just as a way of getting my needs met...but part of me worries that that's because she hasn't been on the receiving end of it (and perhaps I lack confidence in her ability to even realize she's being manipulated). I don't know if I actually will ever manipulate her, but I worry that someday if she is too nice to me, then I will try to manipulate her in order to get her to keep giving me super empathetic responses to things...
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I try to remind myself that I'm not my T's first rodeo. He's dealt with lots of clients with lots of diagnoses. It is a level of trust. Maybe it's something you can say if it happens. "I really liked the response you gave me here and now I really want that response again and I feel like I'm trying to get you to give it to me."
In DBT we learn that calling a feeling a feeling or a thought a thought can often times give us some level of power over it. If I say "I feel the feeling of anger." It's no longer an identifier. I am not the anger. I feel the anger and it is not my identity.
I think you can do the same thing with where you are. Worth trying maybe? Or just keep talking about it with your T, give her a chance to reassure you multiple times because I still need lots of reassurance.