Hasn't really been awful in general. Most therapy I have done has been thoroughly inconsequential.

But even when the model of advising, guiding, instructing wasn't overt or particularly problematic, the experience was still largely me expressing things, and then having those things interpreted and fed back to me, sometimes in a "corrected" form. A basic assumption of therapy seems to be that the client is suffering due to some internal failure or inability to see clearly, rather than due to their life situation.

This was never what i needed and indicates a faulty diagnosis. What I needed was connection and understanding. I got that here and there, but it was never fully authentic or mutual.