That's what frightens me the most about these therapists--as BudFox said "outwardly caring and compassionate but inwardly seeking adoration or power."

Yet once you have good therapy the difference between a genuinely caring and compassionate and boundaried therapist, and one who seeks power, is so stark that you will wonder how on earth you didn't see it (for me, there were subtle signs that my ex-T had difficulty with impulse control and some narcissistic tendencies). I would bet my life savings that my current T wouldn't repeat the same "mistakes" as my ex-T unless he suffered a brain tumor. God help me if I am wrong.

For me, I didn't want to see it. I needed my ex-T to be an idealized father figure, so when his anger surfaced unexpectedly a few times (including witnessing an awkward moment between him and another patient wherein he seethed at her), I brushed it off. The door to the office was ajar and I saw him standing over her with a terrible look of contempt in his face. Who knows what happened, maybe she threatened him, but it certainly gave me pause, wondering if similar treatment might happen to me. And it did!