Quote:
Originally Posted by BudFox
I agree. For me, in hindsight, it was just plain unhealthy, with subtle undertones of emotional abuse in all the withholding. I developed intense attachment and feelings for my ex-T. And yet I was allowed no physical contact, only the briefest morsels of face time, there was no mutual sharing, and none of the deep longings and needs were ever, or could ever be, gratified in a meaningful way. It was a torment. And then the client is made to feel guilty for wanting more. This is healing?
Hope the OP can get through this.
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To be fair, I think the point of therapy is to acknowledge those needs and channel them outside of therapy. For example try to build more intimate friendships, find a partner to fulfill physical needs, and so on.
What I'll call the 'Big Problem' is when clients become fixated on the therapist and assume the therapist is the only person who can meet those needs. A therapist needs to be really skilled and really patient to help a client through it. Otherwise, there is a wide potential for damage.