Not trying to be oppositional to your question, just thought I'd answer too.

I doubt this will happen for me. I'm sure my therapist will at some point disappoint me when we reach a moment where she's not fully understanding me or where I need her to have an answer and she doesn't. But that's more like small disappointment, and maybe a better word would be frustration. With reality. But I'll probably feel it like disappointment towards her in the moment.

The thing is, putting your therapist on a pedestal doesn't seem very productive to me. I understand it happens because they're such a 'blank slate' and we go to them to deal with things that feel bigger than ourselves. And we need some sense of safety so we build an image in our minds of that person that could turn into an unrealistic image. But my point is - we should probably try not to do that.

I have a lot of confidence in my therapist's ability to help me because she has been doing this for ages, she came recommended, she is willy certified and from my impressions she has her client's best interest at heart. If any of those assumptions I have about her turn out to not be true, that would be a bummer. But I don't think it's the same as when someone falls of a pedestal.

Because I think I'm realistic in having those assumptions about her. As to her personality and how successful she is at life? I don't know. Obviously I make some assumptions based on how she dresses, looks and talks. But I don't know. For all I know she's living like a recluse catlady and has no healthy relationships. If I were to somehow find out that's the case, I still don't think it would bother me. She's another human being and she is there for me and she knows (I hope) how to guide me as I try to navigate life and my past experiences.

But gosh, I'm glad I don't know. Because if I knew her life was difficult, I'd have tons of empathy towards her and I'd forget about myself. Because that's my pattern in life.

In what way do you think you put your therapist on a pedestal? How do you feel about that? How do you rationalise that? Do you attempt to have a more realistic image of your therapist or do you need this ideal version of them so you can feel safe? And do you think this is something you do with people in your everyday life too then? Needing them to be perfect before you can connect?

Very interested to hear your thoughts! I know I tend to favour my more rational side and I'm not always very understanding of people who go into these things with 90% emotion.