Only a couple of times has he shown frustration about his feelings of stuckness. Once, he said that what we were talking about was a "cul de sac" and the other time he said he felt like we were "wading through treacle".

Both times I reminded him that those were his feelings and not mine, and this is my therapy. Especially the second time, when I said "I pay you £x per hour to wade through as much treacle as I f***ing well need to". Both times he has recognised those feelings originate in him and he's allowed me to take the therapy where I want to take it.

I wouldn't do well with a therapist who believed more in short term therapy. To be honest I wouldn't do well with a therapist who thought they knew what I need better than I do, at all.