I think this is a bit unreasonable. As a therapist you are working with vulnerable people, and these people depend on you. It's the nature of the relationship. So in my opinion the client definitely has the right to know if the therapist is having a baby. It makes no sense to claim that they don't, because it significantly affects the client. Also, the client is paying the therapist for a service, and they invest a lot of time and energy into it, so don't you think they deserve to know in advance if their therapist plans on taking a break from their work?

Also, consider the fact that some of these clients have severe abandonment issues. How can a therapist spring maternity leave on a client who is there to work through something like that? It's a relationship that's supposed to be based on trust… where's the trust in that?

I do agree that a therapist has the same right as every other person on the planet to choose when and how to expand their family, but I don't think it is too much to ask that they inform their clients of what's to come.

That said, it seems like Chummy's therapist is trying to make sure that she'll be in capable hands during the five months that she will be gone. She sounds like a good therapist who is capable of holding Chummy's emotional reaction while she works through it. From what I can see, she is getting there; she is acknowledging that she's been angry and has said hurtful things that were too harsh. She seems to be saying that she regrets it. We can't always control our emotions, and the idea that we should be able to do that is what keeps the stigma alive re: mental illness. Let's not do that to each other, okay? Especially not here.