I have a history of addictions and can't think of addiction as something that does not come with negative consequences. But yeah this was a concern for me before I started therapy, due to my tendency to get obsessed with pretty much anything that interests me. I even expressed to my therapist this concern very early on and he reassured me if it becomes an issue, we'll address it. It turned out just fine. I don't feel therapy is something I want to do all the time and/or instead of other important things in my life. Sometimes thinking about therapy or my therapist gets a bit excessive, but I don't tend to do it to substitute or avoid other things and don't feel it gives me the instant gratification other addictions used to. I can imagine it becoming addictive with the wrong practitioner, as Echos Myron mentioned, just like I got seriously addicted to a romantic relationship once in the past (with someone who was similarly addiction-prone and ***ed up emotionally). Luckily mine does not encourage that sort of thing in any form but is nurturing enough so that I don't crave anything excessively.