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Simcha, i think what she was saying in regards to harvard and the successful hubby is that this therapist has never experienced a lot of the "real world" problems, problems with children, money etc. that many of us struggle with. it is hard to understand what it is to have an autistic child if your child is a football star, or understand the feeling of not knowing where you are going to come up with grocery money if you have never been there. jmho

lost

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Most people do not lead identical lives, but are perfectly capable of having and expressing empathy for other people who have been in hard times in their life. An adult therapist with empathy/understanding, and the skillset to be able help her overcome her difficulties is what is required. Whether a therapist comes from "same side of the tracks" or not isn't really an issue if the therapist is has the right skills and empathy (I'd say empathy is a skill too).

Here we are looking at a child therapist who shouldn't be treating adults, who isn't connecting with their adult patient (perhaps also a personality mismatch), and doesn't seem to be able to understand where the patient is coming from. If the therapist can't empathize and understand that the difference between losing a dog and losing a child are two completely different things, then I'd say there's not much help to be found there.