I had a close relationship with my former therapist and was badly burned in the end when she suddenly decided to end it and attempted to gaslight me. I haven't talked about it much on the forum because I'm trying to let go of the past, but it's always in the back of my mind when interacting with my current therapist.

With my current therapist, it is hard to strike a balance because I like him very much. I believe he is a genuinely decent person, unlike my former therapist who was the definition of a narcissistic god-complex therapist. There is nothing phony about this one and he is open about himself and his own flaws. But I have to remind myself after every session now that no matter how chummy we sometimes get in his office, we are not friends and it's a paid service. And that's hard because I find him so likable that part of me wants to bond more deeply, but I can't allow it. All I can do is keep trying to allow the buried parts of myself to come to the surface, which is a big goal for me, and it's easier to do this with someone I like and trust.