I do see him as an authority figure. He doesn't see himself as one--he sees himself as more of a partner in my therapy, where I'm the expert on me and he's the expert on psychology. But it doesn't keep me from seeing him that way. In talking lately about how I interact with male authority figures and what I'm looking for from them, he seems to understand what's going on for me and accept it more. And we're using it as a way to figure out what's going on with me in terms of childhood/teenage stuff and transference.