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Old Jan 05, 2018, 06:14 PM
toomanycats toomanycats is offline
Grand Poohbah
 
Member Since: May 2017
Location: USA
Posts: 1,734
So, to me, the fact that you're afraid to share them indicates that you kind of 'know' that he's overstepping professional boundaries. Let me pause here to say: Any overstepping of boundaries is NOT your fault. Keeping you safe, taking care of you by establishing and maintaining appropriate boundaries is the therapist's job. #1 job, actually. So, even if you 'kind of know,' it's NOT your fault. And I say this from experience, since my last therapist blurred our boundaries, resulting in a very negative outcome for me.

So, a couple of possibilities come to mind:
1. Perhaps he is in supervision, and his supervisor is now aware of his countertransference (which I absolutely believe is happening) and is counseling him to establish some boundaries to corral the relationship back to 'professional' if that is even possible.

2. He himself has realized that he has messed up, blurred boundaries he shouldn't have blurred, and is trying to move the relationship back to professional.

Those are my best guesses.
I absolutely don't think he thinks negatively of you in any way.

Touch is a difficult subject in therapy. As it is of such importance to you, it should've been something around which he has defined and explained his boundaries. Perhaps hugging and handshakes are the only type of touch he allows, and that is policy (or even the entire practice's policy if he's working in a practice).

The other thing that kind of springs to mind is that most friendships do not involve touch beyond hugs (at least in my experience) - especially adult friendships. Your desire for other types of touch is ABSOLUTELY OK - but maybe it is coming from some transference.

I think you should tell your T exactly what you've said here. All of it. From how his blurry boundaries are messing with your head to how his assertion of a 'no additional touch' rule is making you feel.
I would also outright ask him if he is in supervision and if he has discussed your case with his supervisors and if he has been entirely honest about his boundaries with you.
Thanks for this!
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