is there a disorder in where people are attracted to their their therapist?
597099
No disorder. It is common, however, especially in certain personality disorders (especially borderline pesonality disorder).\n\nFeelings of affection towareds your therapist can fall into the category of "transference." This is where clients transfer onto the therapist emotions (good or bad) about another significant person in their life.\n\nIf you are having feelings for your therapist that are interfering with the therapy, you need to discuss it with your therapist. Nothing can legally come of your feelings, since it is illegal in the US for mental health professionals to have relationships with their clients outside of the therapy room.
281435
I'm not sure, but i would suggest you check under Pshychology for this is a term that belongs under that categorization.
480508
Hi,\nI am a female social worker (therapist) and I have worked with male and female clients of all ages.  \n\nFirst of all, it is normal and common for people to be attracted to their therapist.  After all, this is a person who is listening to your problems, who is understanding and helpful.  This doesn't have to be a bad thing, the trust and connection that you feel to her may be helpful to the therapeutic process.  \n\nI just want to make it clear before I say the rest, that it is NEVER okay under any circumstances for a therapist to flirt with, date or meet a client outside of the office.  If your therapist happens to see you at the mall or something outside of therapy, technically, she shouldn't even say, "Hi," unless you do first.  Therapy is that serious and that confidential. \n\nIf you think your therapist is good at helping you and you want to keep seeing her as a therapist, then you need to tell her about your attraction to her.  If you are too nervous to say it, you can write it down or tell her you had a dream that you were attracted to her.  If she is a true professional, she will know exactly what to say, and she has probably dealt with this before.  Then, you guys can have a talk about it and move on to getting the help you need.  You'll probably find that your feelings go away after you talk with her and start working on your issues.   \n\nIf you think that you would never be able to get over the attraction that you feel to her or that it could be a barrier to your therapy (like you wouldn't want to talk about certain things because you would be afraid she might judge you, etc.), you either need to keep the dialogue going with her on these issues or get a different therapist.  I'm sure she would be happy to give you the name of a colleage.  Like I said, don't worry, it happens all the time.  \n\nThe good part about this is, if you have any fears of talking to women about difficult subjects, this will help you conquer that - and in a very safe environment.  That's what therapy is all about: dealing with difficult issues in a safe environment.\n\nGood for you for getting therapy and for not being afraid to ask your question.  For your own sake, so you get the most out of your therapy, I really do think you should talk to her though.  It will be fine :)
1008553
There definately has to be some physical attraction .....The great personality seals the deal!!!!lol
945718
=years ago I married a bonifide PSYCHOPATH.  Of course I didn't know it at the time he was so charming and absolutely perfect in every way.  Then the problems surfaced.  He unwillingly went to a psychiatrist who told me it would take at least 10 years of therapy to "re-wire" his brain and asked me if I would be willing to hang in there.  I said yes, anything for my husband.  Long story short..he quit seeing the psychiatrist cause he thought the doctor was trying to extort money from him, his problems got worse and we got divorced.  True story.
295283
Really not enough info.  As stated by another, where are you looking?  Some people are attracted to 'bad boys' and reject the good ones.  There is also a term called learned helplessness.  It may not apply to you, as I said, lack of info, but people who have that problem are attracted to people who will abuse them, treat them like dirt, etc.   You may need couseling if that is true.  Often, it is rooted in abuse from a parent.  Sometimes, you look for your father in someone and, if your father was cruel, etc., you still end up being drawn to them.  Guys marry their mothers, women marry their fathers.  (figuratively speaking)
580809
When I first met my husband I thought he was a total dork and wanted nothing to do with him (in that way).  We became great friends and somewhere down the road he became very attractive to me.  So I guess the answer to your question is yes.  I was not physically attracted to him at first, then when I really got to know him his outter beauty was magnified by his inner beauty.
274977
There's not any probed theories to answer this one, but i will send you some links to information about this that i found in the APA American Psychological Association\n\nhttp://www.apa.org/topics/sbehaviorsub1.html#whatis\n\nWhat Causes a Person To Have a Particular Sexual Orientation? \n\nThere are numerous theories about the origins of a person's sexual orientation; most scientists today agree that sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors. In most people, sexual orientation is shaped at an early age. There is also considerable recent evidence to suggest that biology, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's sexuality. In summary, it is important to recognize that there are probably many reasons for a person's sexual orientation and the reasons may be different for different people. \n\nIs Sexual Orientation a Choice? \n\nNo, human beings can not choose to be either gay or straight. Sexual orientation emerges for most people in early adolescence without any prior sexual experience. Although we can choose whether to act on our feelings, psychologists do not consider sexual orientation to be a conscious choice that can be voluntarily changed. \n\nWhat About So-Called "Conversion Therapies"? \n\nSome therapists who undertake so-called conversion therapy report that they have been able to change their clients' sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. Close scrutiny of these reports however show several factors that cast doubt on their claims. For example, many of the claims come from organizations with an ideological perspective which condemns homosexuality. Furthermore, their claims are poorly documented. For example, treatment outcome is not followed and reported overtime as would be the standard to test the validity of any mental health intervention. \n\nThe American Psychological Association is concerned about such therapies and their potential harm to patients. In 1997, the Association's Council of Representatives passed a resolution reaffirming psychology's opposition to homophobia in treatment and spelling out a client's right to unbiased treatment and self-determination. Any person who enters into therapy to deal with issues of sexual orientation has a right to expect that such therapy would take place in a professionally neutral environment absent of any social bias. \n\nIs Homosexuality a Mental Illness or Emotional Problem? \n\nNo. Psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals agree that homosexuality is not an illness, mental disorder or an emotional problem. Over 35 years of objective, well-designed scientific research has shown that homosexuality, in and itself,is not associated with mental disorders or emotional or social problems. Homosexuality was once thought to be a mental illness because mental health professionals and society had biased information. In the past the studies of gay, lesbian and bisexual people involved only those in therapy, thus biasing the resulting conclusions. When researchers examined data about these people who were not in therapy, the idea that homosexuality was a mental illness was quickly found to be untrue. \n\nIn 1973 the American Psychiatric Association confirmed the importance of the new, better designed research and removed homosexuality from the official manual that lists mental and emotional disorders. Two years later, the American Psychological Association passed a resolution supporting the removal. For more than 25 years, both associations have urged all mental health professionals to help dispel the stigma of mental illness that some people still associate with homosexual orientation.
1053419
before I started seeing a therapist, which was 20 years ago, I thought they would be scary looking ladies/men that smelled old. But, let me tell you, I have had some nice looking therapists in my years. I look forward to going!
49955
Haha, no, but there is a Kinsey scale of sexuality that each person can be placed on to show his or her apparent attraction to the opposite or same sex.
734234
When one is attracted to ones own gender.
62235
It is not necessarily abnormal, although it could be. I depends on the relationship that the person is in, and it depends on what the reasons are that the person dislikes kissing and affection. It may be that the person just prefers not to. It may be, though, that she has had some negative experiences in the past that has lead to this. For whatever reason, if this is to be a long-term relationship you two need to have a discussion about this and see if you can resolve it in a way that meets both of your needs. By that, I don't mean forcing her to do so, or that you should "settle" for no affection. If your styles are so different you should reassess if this person is the right person to be in a long-term relationship with. Preferences like these don't usually change (at least without therapy) and neither of you are likely to be happy with this serious a difference in your preferences for affection.
1066008
You are conflating a number  of issues.\n\nFirst of all, believing in God or any other Divinity concept does not a crazy person make--there are certainly pathological as well as healthy ways to be either theistic or atheistic.\n\nSecond, being crazy oneself does not necessarily make one a poor psychotherapist for another, if one still has good clinical skills and appropriate boundaries.\n\nHowever, while it is not troubling that your psychotherapist believes in God, it is suspicious that you are familiar with her spiritual beliefs.  This is potentially a sign of poor clinical boundaries.  While your spiritual perspective is very relevant to your clinical interaction, hers are almost certainly not, and her reasons for making them known to you are potential cause for concern.  What reasons does she give for sharing this with you?  On the other hand, if she has not divulged her spiritual beliefs to you, but you have figured them out through internet research or observation or some other device of your own, then this is not her boundary issue at all, but rather possibly yours (which is more normal in clinical relationships).\n\nThe real question is what your real motivation is for wanting to stop seeing her.  Are you looking for someone else, or hoping to find a justification for exiting the therapeutic situation entirely?  Stop examining her motivations for a minute and consider your own.  If she is a good therapist, she can help you with this.
654903
I belong to a DID board, and although I am not DID myself....I have a lot of experience with people who are.\n\n   DID is almost always a result of severe childhood abuse, and the condition itself first develops when a person is very young, and experienceing things that are simply too traumatic to stay in consiousness. So it's not like people "get" DID in later life: the general consensis is that they have had it ever since the abuse first happened.\n\n   Other personalities are created to come out and be there for the experiences, and then "hold" the memories behind a wall of amniesia.\n\n   Personalities can be formed at each traumaic experience, thus serving to create sometimes hundreds of different personalities, or personalities can be created who are "thematic" and come out to deal with any experience that is  related to their particular "job", thus resulting in fewer personalites overall.\n\n    Personalities are generally frozen at the age they were created, and since most of the trauma was during childhood, often a large percentage of a persons personalites are "littles" from ages 3 on up.   And yet, if things happen later in life, if the thing that happens is related to the "job" of a little......it will often still be that personality that comes out to deal with it, even if they are much younger in age than the "host" happens to be.\n\n  One other odd thing about DID is that.....people can be in their mid 20's and on into their 50's and still have **no clue** that they have DID.  As far as they are concerned, everyone has big chunks of time that they have no memory of.\n\n   When people are diagnosed with DID, it is almost the rule that they will be going...."Like h*ll I have Multipal Personalites".  Believe me, you yourself could have it and not know.  So you can see why you might think your therapist was the one who was nuts for daring to suggest such a thing.  Even when the evedence is right before their eyes, people will **still** deny that it could be possible.\n\n  The first goal in treatment is for the "host" to begin to make contact with their "others."  But often, in their urge to deny things, they will actively resist making any effort to do so.  By that time, their alters are ususally starting to really loose patience with the host.  They **want** to be heard.  The result of such resistance will often be severe headaches, "hearing voices" or "chatter" and nightmares.\n\n  In the end, the function of DID is protection.  Allmost all personalities have acted in ways to protect the host from memories they fear would overwhelm the host.  So as most people travel down the path toward getting better, they  generally come to love and appreciate their alters for all the things they have done for them over the years.  Or at least come to understand their origional motivation, in the case of personalities who may have done things to get them in trouble\n\n   Are alters "real personalities" ?   By definition ( as noted in the DSM) they are.  The more time they spend "out" the more they accumulate life experiences of their own, and develop a level of complexity that does indeed charactorize a "personality".\n\n   Treatment for DID can be quite long.  Generally, the thought is that each personality needs to resolve his own set of issues, and when there are a large number of personalities.....you can see where it might take quite a while. Most treatment is the sort of treatment that people with PTSD have to go through.  People and their personalites usually *all* have "trama issues" of one form or another that they each must deal with.\n\n  Among people with DID there is quite a debate about what the final goal of treatment might be.  Some people are not at all interested in "integrating" because of the respect they have developed for their
91637
yeah, some people are just weird like that... it could be a clsh of personality... you hear often how opposites attract and when others don't get along because they are sooooo much alike... that's the way love goes
910591
It's fundamentally the same thing. When people see something they consider attractive -- whether it's a potential mate or just a pleasing painting -- their pupils dilate. We're also remarkably sensitive to this happening in other people, even though it's often beyond the supposed resolving power of our eyes. When you meet someone that you like, your pupils will react and if they like you theirs will react too. That signal will be subliminally caught and you will both feel accepted and validated.
278997
Because your hormones are raging at that time maybe the person is sexy or you like their attitude the attraction turns into affection and lust (sexually or not)