>>>>>Sounds like... You are having trouble letting go.<<<<<

I think I have clarified in my other post that I have no problem letting go, but you do bring up an issue I think all persons in therapy should consider.....What if the therapist has trouble letting go???

Therapy first needs to establish a relationship/friendship based on trust or how else could it ever be helpful. With that being said, the T is human and has the capacity to develop a genuine friendship with the client. If that happens, can a T then look objectively at the relationship and still view it from a theraputic perspective? Could the T judgement start to get clouded and on a subconscious level have a need to continue therapy because it now fulfills a need in the T?

No one can deny the sense of imbalance between the T and client. The T is getting paid for the relationship. He/she is viewed as the expert with the answers, and not the one in need. Just that sense of imbalance can make the client vulnerable. Obviously that vulnerability is more so when dealing with a teen. Most teens will not question the T as being helpful or not. If a T conveys that it is helpful or is needed, a teen will most likely accept that at face value.

At least with the T my dd is seeing, she has grown dd's of her own. I do think the T has developed a fondness in my dd. I question whether that fondness is fulfilling a need in the T, as in she is once again having the chance to revisit the teen years, and fulfill parental roles she may miss now that her dd's are grown.

There is an article on this website under depression disorders. The title is: "The Therapist jJob is to Put Herself Out of Work." In other words, therapy should be able to help clients spread their wings and fly on their own without a continuing need for therapy. Of course, I am talking about persons who may just need a little boost to cope, and not those who have underlying disorders that may need a lengthy continuation of therapy.