I find gaslighting fairly common out in the world. Any of us who have worked with an "empty suit," a grandstander or mild-to-severe abuser likely has experienced this to some degree. It overlaps our decision that someone is full of --manure.

However I assume some of us attribute qualities to therapists--professionalism, trustworthiness, altruism, judgment, training--that make the therapist's argument, even against us, more difficult to assess and abandon. I essentially sacrificed myself to maintain my god-like image of my therapist. Separating was like cult deprogramming.