Quote:
Originally Posted by feralkittymom
No, I don't think so. Familiarity is a mutual thing to me and a sense that a relationship has moved beyond barriers. It feels too boundary-less to me. I think current T tries to cultivate such familiarity, but I find it counter productive and so hold the frame better than she does. I would say intimate because of the nature of conversations, but not familiar.
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Yes, I think separating out intimacy from familiarity makes a ton of sense in this context. With my current therapist, there are definitely sporadic moments of familiarity--when one of us makes a joke and we're both laughing, or when we're casually referencing places, people, institutions we're both familiar with, etc.--but I don't think familiarity is broadly present. Intimacy is, though.
I definitely had a sense of familiarity with the therapist I saw immediately prior to this one--many of our conversations wouldn't have been out of place in a more social relationship. He casually shared many things about his life and background. We had more familiarity than intimacy--there was an easy rapport with some mutual understanding, and therapy felt like a pleasant encounter with a person I enjoyed and appreciated, but no significant insight or depth.