Ex-therapist conundrum

I am hoping someone can help me figure out what to do here. I left therapy almost a year ago after over 2 years with excellent progress and rapport with their therapist. We mutually agreed this was the right step so that we could collaborate on social projects outside of the therapy context, but about the topic of the therapy I’d had. The therapist has not dedicated much time to the work - nowhere like I expected or believed would happen. Instead of it being safe and helpful like our therapy had been, it is stressful for both of us. The therapist has shown and expressed some negative feelings to me, opposite of unconditional positive regard, and I have found that actually quite devastating. On two occasions their reactions have caused me to cry for hours, for example. I do not have another therapist now, and am tied to them in the projects in a complex way emotionally, as well administratively. I don’t know what to do. Another terrible part of this is the feeling that I am doing some type of harm to them, ie stress. I feel extremely sensitive and upset about that, much more than I would a regular person, because I have so much respect for them due to the help they previously provided me with. The projects are significant with many other people and commitments involved so they can’t be dropped. I need help to know how to handle this- please provide any ideas on what to do here.

Posted Oct 5, 2025, 3:43 AM UTC

039
Loading comments…