Quote:
Originally Posted by LonesomeTonight
I agree. It could make you lose a bit of trust in her. It could change your image of her and your relationship. It could ultimately make the relationship stronger. And it could be all three at once.
I used to hate when my T would say how working through ruptures makes relationships stronger. Because if he said it in the middle of the rupture, it felt sort of like a copout. There I was in pain, doubting whether I can trust him, and he's acting like this is ultimately a good thing? But now, while I'm not in rupture/repair mode, I can look back and see that I have gained more trust in the strength of our relationship. Like, "OK, we worked through that, we can work through this." And, "He's not just going to drop/terminate/tighten the boundaries because of a conflict or because I express hurt or anger toward him."
And it can also help me to look at outside relationships that way, too--I had a conflict with my H or my friend, but we've had other conflicts and gotten through it. Now, there are people in my past to whom that does *not* apply, but those relationships clearly were not strong enough and/or we weren't both dedicated to maintaining them. In your case, Scarlet, I think you have a strong relationship with L, and you're both dedicated to maintaining it.
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Yes and I think the change or movement occurs in terms of self, not just in relation to the other. With every rupture we have had, I have learnt more about my vulnerability and defenses and, on this occasion, my desperate need for control.
I really envy the clarity with which you can say that Scarlet has a strong therapeutic relationship. Equally, I admire the confidence with which Scarlet knows that there is no malice in her therapist's behaviour and believes in the goodness of her therapist. My sense of this goodness in my own therapeutic relationship is so fragile and I don't know how much of that is because of my emotional mess and how much of it could be because my therapist is a nightmare.
Ok, enough derailing comrade! I will start a separate thread now.