Thanks Xynesthesia!

I'm not one to idealize high degrees - having encountered far too many problematic people holding them (as well as some awesome people, of course!) I had assumed it would make a significant difference to the approach the therapist took, but a therapist once told me that the longer therapists practiced, the more alike their approach was!

It sounds like you had some similar dynamics to the ones Atisket had with a PHD therapist! In my opinion it is the therapist's duty to be aware and manage this, but I guess some are prone to competition. The only T I have seen with a PHD was not at all like that. In fact, I got irritated with his word choices being inexact and somewhat careless. He was also a bit prone to cliches and had a strangely naive way of looking at things. On the other hand he was quite centered, professional, compassionate and steady.

Regarding humor and off-beat-ness, I can see how this COULD manifest in ways that are problematic, and be a sign of traits that are not desirable in a T. With the long term T that I had, this was not the case - but I do think a T could be really good without having such traits and so...I probably shouldn't think of it as a deal breaker...