The Seduction of Being Admired
A few days ago, I came across a discussion among therapists around a question that made many people visibly uncomfortable: What happens when a therapist develops feelings for a client? I read the responses and moved on, but strangely, the question did not move on from me. Perhaps it stayed with me because I did not arrive in counselling through a straight professional corridor. Long before I entered a counselling room, I had spent years in very different spaces—as an artist and performer, a teacher, a writer, in media, and in community work. On paper these roles may appear unrelated, but in reality they have one thing in common: people. And when you spend enough years working closely with people, you begin to understand that attachment does not restrict itself to romantic relationships. A student can become deeply attached to a teacher. A young artist may begin seeking one mentor’s approval more than the applause of an entire audience. A junior colleague may admire a senior far beyon...