After a year of therapy, I asked for a hug and was told no. I told my therapist I couldn't continue therapy without one, as his refusal made me feel like something was wrong with me (or "unworthy", as you put it). I quit. A few days after quitting I asked for a final session and was told we no longer worked together. His refusal to say goodbye hurt far more than his refusal to hug me.

Despite that, I think it's worth you asking for a hug, as therapy is rather pointless if you don't talk about what's going on with you.

But if I could have a do-over, I would have broached the subject without mentioning hugs at all. I would have said something like "there's something I want to ask of you, but your refusal will mean X to me, which is scary. I want to talk about this." I might have seen something to warn me that he would never adapt to me or didn't respect my views on what was critical to my own healing.

And I wish I'd set boundaries for myself before I asked. I would have decided what to do in advance depending on what he said. I would have decided to leave immediately and then book a final session.

When a friend or a company or a partner rejects you, you don't sit in front of them for another hour feeling ****. You go and do something productive.

I think it's very normal to want to connect physically with people we share intimate things with. And I get the feeling of being unworthy of touch. I was in therapy for a miscarriage, and the refusal entrenched my belief there was literally something wrong with my body. Took a very long time to undo the damage.

I really hope your therapist is more sensitive then mine was.