Jumping in here......

My T is both humanistic AND psychoanalytic/psychodynamic.

Like Pink, in my therapy the healing comes through the nuances and struggles of the relationship. The relationship is real and so is the attachment. The transference--erotic or not is also real. It is up to me (with T's help) to figure out why these feelings are coming up in our relationship.

When I began therapy I was so detached from some of my feelings that I didn't believe they existed. I had completely compartmentalized and had everything tidied up in neat little packages.

As we work through the relationship, these feelings have begun to emerge and we are integrating them into my personality. This is where the healing takes place. It's hard work.

So, as far as healing/therapy is concerned, erotic transference is really no different than any other transference, although certainly a hell of a lot more interesting and scintillating!!!!

(and embarrrrassing to talk about if you were raised like I was.....)

It also requires a certain amount of self control (and strong boundaries as we said before)--because in the transference we can act out on feelings of guilt, shame, anger--but we certainly can't act out the sexual part of the erotic transference. (However, we can act out the loving part!).

Now, having said that, Pink, what the hell did you do when he made that comment about "not having wild sex on the couch?"

I WOULD HAVE DIED....A THOUSAND DEATHS......

YOU ARE BRAVE!