use of possessive language when referring to a therapist

I know..it's just not supposed to be a substitution for attachment to a parent....I think I just needed someone to talk to tonight. Thanks

I understand that some find attachment elsewhere. I hope your dogs/pets were somewhat comforting for you.
I find attachment to pets quite useful and cannot imagine being without them.

And this is why, unlike another person who posted previously that she viewed the discussion as a bit "pathological", I actually find this thread interesting and more than a little intriguing. It's a great example of how individual we all are when it comes to how we view the therapeutic relationship.

You seem somewhat cool, suspicious and dismissing of the therapeutic relationships you're engaged in, stopdog. That's not a bad thing if it works for you, and you definitely seem to be getting something out of it because you continue to go and pay good money for it. At times, it seems as though the deep connection and love others hold for their therapist boggles your mind and seems a bit foreign to you. You ask great questions about how others perceive things. And just as you feel this way, others find your perception of the therapeutic relationship curious and foreign to them. Some of us sit in the middle area of connection with their therapist, me included and I admit to being intrigued and curious about how all the people on this board view their therapeutic relationship. I wouldn't spend so much time reading other people's posts if that wasn't the case.

It is so cool that there are so many variations in how the relationship works for different people. The thread, in my opinion, really wasn't just about language; even though that was your intention. It was about the underlying meaning of the word for each individual. I found all the answers interesting.

I am indeed often boggled.

And I find the variations interesting.

I find myself boggled about my own situation, I mentioned above that I don't feel close with T or want to talk to her outside of session. I don't know or want to know anything private about her, and I wish like hell I didn't have to tell her anything private about me.

Funny I thought that was perfectly normal before I found PC and read about others' feelings. Now I'm mostly relieved that it's a no-drama zone, where I can get practical advice and not judgement. I'll keep it!

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I love your posts, Stopdog.
No reason.

Using the word "my" in reference to a person (to me) gives my a sense of connection with that person. If we all considered each other'se brothers and sister, the world would be a better place......my beautiful siblin

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I know what you mean. It's like saying "my attorney" which I don't like. But I always say my doctor for some reason. Only exception is I'm in a class with my family docs daughter, and I wouldn't say he's my doctor in front of her because he's her dad first. But yeah, I say my therapist or my psychologist.

So far I've only said "the psychiatrist."

This is an interesting question. For me, I think it depends on how I feel about the person. I do say 'my therapist' because I'm attached. She doesn't refer to herself as in 'Your therapist' but she's not presumotuous.

But for professionals in general that are in my world.. whether I use 'my' or a more distant 'the' depends on how I feel about them