Do you feel like your therapist judges you?

Therapists, ideally, are non-judgmental. They listen, and offer new ways of seeing things, and possibly suggestions about how you might deal with issues that bother you.

In my case, there are times when I think my therapist is judging me. Her body language—tightened lips, shaking head, etc—suggests she doesn’t approve of something I’m saying. I call her on it and she tries to explain it away as worry for me or something like that.

Of course, I could be projecting my own feelings about what I’m saying on her. I see or imagine disapproval everywhere. So it is a big step forward for me to stand up for myself or like myself, even when I know what I am doing will not make me liked by the people whose attention I seek.

How is it for you? How does your therapist treat you? Do you think they like you? Do they disapprove of things you do—or of you? Do the actively intervene in your life? Do you project their disapproval on them, or are they really disapproving?