Posted by Racer on July 25, 2004, at 13:53:23
In reply to slightly interesting story, but, not really, posted by Miss Honeychurch on July 23, 2004, at 12:16:56
Don't be too sure that he meant it in a general way, or just as a professional statement of where his professional interest was focussed.
When I was teaching, I cared about most of my students. Not as a professional, "Oh, of course I care", part of the job. I, personally, liked and cared about most of my students. I don't mean that I wanted to bring them all home to dinner, just that their victories made me happy, their struggles concerned me, I was *involved* with them, emotionally, on a personal level. Most of them had weekly lessons, and I might not think much about them in between unless there was something specific going on, but as soon as they showed up, I was as excited to see them as they were to see me. (Frankly, I think it was that genuine affection and involvement on my part that made me as good as I was, kids -- and, to a lesser extent, adults -- recognize that sincerity.)
So, when your therapist says he cares about you, it probably doesn't mean the same thing it might mean to you, but I suspect it does mean exactly what he says: he cares about you. Doesn't mean any more -- no dinners at Outback ;-) -- but it doesn't mean any less, either. I think if you ask any professional who works with people in any setting that involves a high level of interpersonal interaction -- teaching, therapy, even tax prep or credit counseling -- you'll find that most of the people who do it well will tell you about the same thing I just did. We really and truly do care deeply and personally about our 'people.'
(And I'd love to hear that from a therapist I trusted -- or from Dr EyeCandy. You're a fortunate woman.)
poster:Racer
thread:369422
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040723/msgs/370334.html