[JunoMinx]

He ends up acting distant and detached during the following session. He's not horribly cruel or anything, but it seems deliberate. Has anyone else ever experience this with their therapist? Why do they do this?

[SlumberKitty]

Not sure if this is the same thing, but when I have a really good session and I seem to have connected with the T very well, the next session inevitably sucks and seems like it goes nowhere. I don't think it's a conscious effort on my part or the T's part, I think it just happens. I imagine that could happen with the being distant and detached part of your post as well, or perhaps there is counter-transference issues at play. HUGS Kit

[LabRat27]

I know it's easier said than done, but is this something you could bring up with him?

[snowangel17]

I experienced this with my T a lot. I brought it up and we discussed it. We never really got to the bottom of it so I still don't know the answer but did discuss some potential scenarios as to what may have been happening. My thoughts are either he was pulling back perhaps not even consciously aware that's what he was doing after getting so close or we were unconsciously reenacting patterns from my past. I was so used to being brought up by someone who I would have been very close and connected to one week and horrifying and detached the next week. It's definitely worth bringing up!

[kaleidoscopeheart]

Originally Posted by JunoMinx

He ends up acting distant and detached during the following session. He's not horribly cruel or anything, but it seems deliberate. Has anyone else ever experience this with their therapist? Why do they do this?

I had a T who would do this. After I made progress T felt cold and distant the following session... it felt like a punishment. I finally brought it up and we talked about it and why I felt that way. It was productive and he was much more aware of it the rest of the time I saw him.