Therapists Are Not Parents
Are we simulating family?
I’m always being told not to turn the people I love into my therapists. There’s a lot of worry about emotional labour these days, about overburdening people. Our loved ones should not be expected to provide excessive emotional support. Your friend is not your therapist, we are warned. Your partner is not your therapist. Your parent is not your therapist.
But something we forget, I think, is the inverse. Your therapist is not your friend. Your therapist is not your partner. Your therapist is not your parent.