No. I think it is natural and healthy to want to be close to people and to want to share with them, both good and bad things in one's life. My first T, who was a mild CBT, always urged me to build up my outside support network--friends, family, etc.--so that I had other people in my life besides her. "I can't do it all," she said. Do you have others in your life with whom you are close and can share things? I think when we are depressed, we often isolate ourselves, and then this feeds on itself, because we become lonely.

I don't feel that seeing a T is reinforcing for depression in my case, as I am not depressed anymore, and I was when I first started therapy. If seeing a therapist was reinforcing for depression, I guess I would have remained depressed. My therapist doesn't reward me for being depressed or punish me either, so he/she was not a positive or negative reinforcer. Also, seeing my T does not end with not being depressed anymore, so it's not like there is a punishment (not being able to see T anymore) if I became un-depressed.

I think, though, that there is positive reinforcement to seeing a T if the T is helpful/empathetic/warm/caring etc. Who wouldn't want that in their life? But I don't think it reinforces depression, it reinforces seeing the T, so you don't want to stop because you get a lot of benefit. If my T were mean or angry all the time, it would be like aversive therapy, and I would quit seeing him.