Do you feel like you need your therapist to like you? Craving their approval or wanting to be their "favorite" is not uncommon. In fact there are pages of people asking how to tell if your therapist likes you on the internet.
Here's why you might want your therapist to like you so badly, according therapists.
1.) Being liked and seen as helpful feels good. Kristi Beroldi, a licensed professional counselor, says quote, “Some people want their therapist to like them for the same reason they would want anyone to like them — because it makes them feel good.”
William Chum, a licensed psychotherapist in New York, said, “It is a critical social need to be liked, as being disliked and the possibility of rejection generally causes significant distress, possibly even more so for individuals who may already be more vulnerable with the mental health need that encouraged them to seek therapy in the first place."
2.) We feel more confident in the care we'll receive.
3.) We can't read therapists' emotions as easily. William Chum explains, “Therapists are generally trained to be a ‘blank slate’ in the therapy space and not bring their own feelings or biases into the room, and this atypical relationship dynamic can also cause patients to exhibit subconscious behaviors that help to validate the relationship, such as doing things that they believe will garner some approval."