My T does answer my questions, at least all the ones I have asked so far. He actually discloses more than what I ask for. He has also given me access to another source of personal information about him that I can access on my own time so as not to cut into my session time. He has stated that he does not do this with all of his clients but that as he slowly disclosed more, lowering the power imbalance, I felt safer, disclosed more and therapy became significantly more effective. This isn’t true for a lot of people who really need for T to be that “blank slate” for them to do their work or need that “Dr” “patient” dynamic to feel safe. I have also worked with some T’s who needed the power imbalance so that they felt safe. Thankfully current T has done enough of his own work that he doesn’t need that.
My T is very clear... we have a relationship, a very real, very personal relationship AND I am your doctor, specifically your psychologist and as your doctor there are specific boundaries placed on the relationship. Those boundaries do not make the relationship or the feelings between us any less real or valid they only limit how we are able to act on those feelings.