Here's an interesting blog I came across, on PsychCentral no less, written by a therapist who believes in her profession and has had both good and bad therapists herself:
Bad Therapists
Here is a quote relevant to the topic here:
Quote:
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Socially and culturally, many people are deprived of attunement and empathy. Because of this void, therapists both consciously and unconsciously function like drug dealers. In ways remarkably similar to the methods of drug dealers, therapists initially offer free drugs. Initial hits of empathy from therapists can feel like heroin. Empathy and attunement, desperately needed yet lacking in our society is like a drug, and clients can become hooked. With a skilled and good therapist this attachment will be nurtured with diligence. The client will learn to internalize empathy and attunement, separate and live their lives. In a bad or damaging therapy the therapist may mishandle the natural transference-countertransference dyad, and the client’s addiction to empathy may lead to dependency, sometimes co-dependency, and even disastrous therapeutic outcomes.
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The whole article seemed pretty balanced to me. Wish I had seen it, or something like it, years and years ago.