Certainly--for some Ts and some clients. Not for all.

I don't think parental feelings or a countertransference pattern need reflect any psychopathology, neediness, or lack of fulfillment in a T's life at all. When it does, it's a problem.

But when appropriate with the right client and a competent T, it can be both benign and useful. And, at its best, enriching for both parties. I see it much in the same way as gift/ compliment giving or receiving: when anyone can't accept a reasonable gift given in a spirit of open generosity, it probably reflects some sort of imbalance. But to characterize all such gifting as inherently problematic or worse, needlessly deprives both parties of one of the joys of being human.

For me, it's similar to being a mentor to students/less experienced colleagues. Do I impose such mentoring on everyone? No. Do I mentor to fulfill an unmet need in myself? No--and I base this on a lot of reflection, and on the reception from those I've engaged with in such a relationships.

But does that mean I gain no benefit from mentoring? Absolutely not. It's a satisfaction, I suspect, much like good parents experience. It isn't devoid of ego, but it isn't driven by ego. It's a "1+" experience, not a substitution for something that's lacking.

Although I sense fleeting maternal feelings in current T, there's no countertransference pattern both because she isn't driven by a need, and I'm not looking to fulfill unmet needs. Those were satisfied by former T.

With former T, because the countertransference was from a healthy place and because I was open to it, it was beneficial. That basic dynamic could continue past therapy because firstly, it was fundamentally healthy; and secondly, it wasn't static--I was allowed to "grow up"by resolving my transference while the countertransference evolved, much as a good parent relates differently to an adult child than a 2 yr old.

That both people in any relationship derive mutual benign benefit is a definition of a healthy relationship. Why wouldn't I want as many healthy relationships in my life as I am lucky enough to be graced with?