I had a terribly painful rupture with a T last fall. In the handful of interactions after termination she became defensive and even a bit hostile, and began subtly blaming me for the breakdown.

I consulted with another therapist who sometimes mediates when therapy hits an impasse. He said to me: "it might help if you think of your T as a human being rather than a therapy machine who will always do the right thing".

But the whole premise of therapy is the notion of the T as more evolved and even superior, having worked thru their own issues enough that they can keep them from intruding on therapy and the needs of the client. It's also assumed the T is wise, insightful, kind, understanding… in short super human.

Can the profession have it both ways -- trust us with your deepest pain and problems, we are wise and righteous and omniscient, but when things go wrong they are "only human"?

Seems the truth is that Ts are just like everyone else. Not saying it can't be helpful, but at the core there seems to be a basic dishonesty and hypocrisy that can pretty easily lead to disaster.

Discuss...