I (M23) have been seeing my therapist (F28?) for 2 years now. I've had many before, but she's the first one that seems to truly understand me or care. It feels like she's the first person that is not trying to "fix me".
Just for context. I have ASD (diagnosed) and CPTSD. I was depressed for many years. I'm a very cold person. It's hard for me to show emotions or trust people.
The main reason I go to therapy is to deal with my loneliness and guilt over severe childhood trauma. I'll admit, part of the reason why I also go to therapy is because basically nobody cares about me and it's the only way I have someone that listens to me without blaming me for everything.
I'm from a third world country, I have no friends, basically nonexistent big job opportunities here and don't really get along with my family.
I never ask about her personal life. Never text her or call her outside of sessions. I prefer keeping boundaries because it'd make my transference issues worse, I don't like wasting people's time and I still hate relying on people.
She's very professional. It's extremely rare for her to disclose anything too, but sometimes, she does it to make a point, comfort me or lately, she slips up (?).
A few months ago, we changed our usual schedule. It wasn't a very disruptive change, so I agreed. What stuck with me is how she said she was going to change our schedule because she's "working with a new organization... not due to lack of patients".
Which is weird, because I never said anything about that. But honestly, yes. I rarely see other patients. Could be that most are online. Therapy is still very taboo in this country. And most people can't afford it.
Then, in our last session, she said something that kept me thinking. "I'm proud of you because after all, you kept going. I consider your job [Freelance] to be very lonely. This job is very lonely too. You don't know if a patient is making progress, if you're doing things right or if you could do something more. You don't have anyone to ask... Even then, you keep going and making progress".
When she said that, she maintained her professionalism, but I could notice she had glassy eyes. I could be wrong. I remember that stuck with me. I'm not complaining about this. I do appreciate some vulnerability because it reminds me she's human too.
She didn't mention it again. But when the session finished, I just felt like I had to say something. So I told her "I think you've been doing a great job". And I meant it. She smiled and replied "Thanks for sharing that... It is a lonely job".
I think it was impactful because it perfectly mirrors my issues too. I tell her the same things: that I'm used to feeling lonely, that I often doubt my skills, or that I wish I had someone who understood, challenged me or guided me.
And I never had that because there are no opportunities and I've always been self taught, worked alone and survived alone.
Maybe you consider this to be unprofessional? I personally don't mind and don't consider it a big deal, but trying to empathize with her leaves me thinking. Is she lonely too? Could/Should I do anything about it? Am I a difficult patient? Maybe I'm too cold? Does she even like me as a patient? (Maybe?)
I'm curious to see what other people think. Apologies for the wall of text and (potentially) bad grammar.