Posted by tinydancer on March 5, 2004, at 4:44:04
In reply to Re: Do you have a picture of your T?, posted by Apperceptor on March 4, 2004, at 20:55:14
First of all I will point out that I'm late in the game here and it seems like the Apperceptor situation has been somewhat resolved, but this poster does say they stand by their original statements, so I feel entitled to comment, especially since I was the first one who posted this topic.
While I can see the issue from Apperceptor's point of view, I also find it disturbing that a student of pyschology can display so little understanding towards traumatized patients whom have therapists so skilled that they are able to place their trust in them enough to ask for a photograph. A skilled therapist would and should, in my opinion, encourage the patient to explore and voice all wishes, thoughts, desires, obsessions and so on. If one, as a student of psychology, was uncomfortable or at ease with dealing with the transference and possible chance for erotic transference and other similar situations, I would question the ability of this therapy to serve the client with any purpose.
I totally agree that it takes an incredibly gifted and emotionally strong therapist to succesfully treat a post trauma patient/personality disorder. I don't think it is inappropriate to feel a desire to have a photograph of people that one cares about and has confided in or found kindness in. For myself, I have for a long time collected photographs of myself with different folks who have had an impact on me (teachers, doctors, bosses, priests, counselors) to remind me of the work we accomplished together and of what that means to me. I don't know what is creepy about that. The comparison between an optometrist and a therapist is far too different to be meaningful in my opinion.
I feel that you demean the folks here who have revealed their true emotions for their therapists. For example, in my case this has absolutely never happened before and being an adult who is capable of identifying my own feelings, my feelings for my therapist are far from a teenybopper crush. They are real feelings and I experience real pain. It's nothing I would have chosen to feel. Thankfully my T takes my feelings seriously and is strong enough to be able to simultaneously illuminate the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship while still giving me comfort and reassurance.
I think it is extremely disturbing that you wish the users of this discussion board, many or most of whom ARE patients, to be ashamed of themselves. That is the last thing I think any of us should be. We have given our lives over to the hands of our therapists, trusting in their ability to heal and that is nothing to take lightly as I feel you have, and even more so, demeaned the whole therapeutic process.
I'm not sure where the agression and underlying demeaning attitude I feel you take with us is coming from, but it is a little frightful to envision the positive effect it would have on a potential client.
poster:tinydancer
thread:319365
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040303/msgs/320528.html