When should my therapist be angry with me?

it means:

The phrase comes from a song in Meredith Wilson's The Music Man titled "Trouble" and also referred to as "Ya Got Trouble" or "Trouble in River City."

It is sung by the character Harold Hill (a con-man/traveling salesman pretending to be a music professor). Through the lyrics of the song, Hill persuades the parents of River City that the new billiard table in town is a threat to the moral fiber of the River City youth, verbally illustrating a catastrophic decline of conservative, turn of the century values. All this, of course, is setting the stage for his alternative, wholesome pastime - a boy's band - for which he will sell uniforms and musical instruments.

My interpretation of the phrase, as used today in a colloquial context, is that it refers to an exaggerated problem, or an unfounded, petty, mass hysteria. This of course, is open to interpretation.

Ya got my back, stumpy! There's trouble with a capital T! It's my favorite musical. CantExplain, I was reading "between the lines" - I wrote what I thought I heard you say. I know you didn't outright say these things, I inferred them from what you wrote, drawing my own conclusions, saying what I though you might be finding it difficult to give voice to? That is probably technically against the guidelines, speaking for someone else. I'm sorry if I was overstepping.

Not a problem.

Okay, now that song is running through my head nonstop! Actually, I needed a pick-me-up, so thank you!

anger at breaking a rule (that should be set at the beginning, not made up at random) or at breaking a promise or harming self or others is okay with me.

But anger (usually shown in a passive aggressive way) about how I do things, or at asking a question about therapeutic relationship and so forth, or about me disagreeing about something is not. That anger should be vented outside the office, away from the client.

Just my opinion.

too often I have had them vent at me and take out their issues on me and that's how I got abused in therapy.

So, I really appreciate this question and the person who asked it.

Anger is human.

But at work, it should be controlled.

Billi