Goodbye Therapist, Goodbye Patient

Often people who seek mental health help do so because they had absent parents and therefore developed deep rooted issues with relationships and emotional intimacy. These particular individuals were never shown ‘love’ in the proper sense of the term. They never learned how to receive affection, how to trust those who claim to care about them or how to prevent unhealthy attachments to those they may be fond of.

They struggle with a myriad of crippling issues surrounding the entire process. These are the codependents, the approach avoidant enigmas, the obsessive and possessive types.

On the other side of the same token. (Without mentioning the fact that a large portion of mental health professions are in said profession due to having struggled with their own sanity) Therapists are humans. They are people. Those who aren’t pathologically incapable of emotional empathy and even some whom are, can find themselves, while in a position of healer/nurturer, becoming attached to their patients.

At some point, however, both mental health professionals and patients may encounter the need to bid farewell. This could be because one party had to move, a change in insurance, a limit of potential met, or several other reasons.

From the patient’s perspective, Theres an old saying “therapy creates dependency.”  It’s ironic really. One becomes dependent on the person who teaches them how to not be dependent.   

From a mental health workers standpoint, there is a proclivity to worry about the well-being of certain people you’ve helped guide.

This causes one to pose the question, in regard to this scenario, and then more broadly speaking; how do you say goodbye?

Ecudes~