T makes odd suggestion

Wow ok, that's very strange, and very wrong. You are absolutely sure that is the purpose?

I don't think that a personal disclosure from my T that left me feeling distant from her would necessarily be an indicator of me needing to work on something. For example, if in an effort to find marked differences in our values, she revealed deeply racist, homophobic, sexist attitudes, my loss of confidence in her ability as a T, and my feelings of distance, would be based on something she needed to work on, not me.

I actually stated a number of concerns in my opening post, one of them being a risk of professional boundaries being crossed. One way in which professional boundaries might be crossed would be a T expressing to their client that she feels personally negative about them. It would seem to contravene ethical standards.

That was part of the stated purpose, yes. To find differences that might make me feel personally negative about her or vice versa.

I'm glad that those particular words from 'Depletion' spoke to your own personal situation, StressedMess, and that you found my question thought provoking. Thank you and good health!

So, its not just about her disliking something about you, its about you disliking something about her. Well if it might wind up being mutual then I don't know. If everything else in the relationship seems ok, I would just go forward, and do as others suggest, and ask her about it.

There isn't by chance erotic or maternal transference is there? Or do you have any feelings of unhealthy dependency?

Is she trying to find your anger?

No, I don't have those kinds of feelings about my T, though I'm intrigued to know what prompted that question.

I don't. I'd be saddened if my T had formed that opinion and even more saddened if her suggested exercise were a covert way of addressing such a misreading of my attitudes. But perhaps that is a possibility. Perhaps she has formed a 'theory' about me that misses me completely.

I was just wondering about these things because sometimes T's will try to lessen the transference by helping the client see that they are not truly compatible with the T.

What if the patient is transferring incompatibility?
(People have suggested that I was doing exactly that)

Also, would a T really try to lessen the transference? If anything, I think they encourage it.

Transference isn't always encouraged like in CBT, so some therapists try to deal with it by defusing it.

And as far as transferring incompatibility, I really don't know what that means?

Thank you. I find that interesting.

I'm seeing my T tomorrow. I've decided to pursue asking her what prompted her to suggest the exercise and what therapeutic benefit she anticipated it would have.