As one client, I would say that during a long therapy, I never experienced an on-going need for a T to hold my hand. I never experienced extreme dependency, nor did my T in any way encourage such dependency. A long-term therapy is not inherently a dysfunctional therapy, nor does it necessarily reflect any significant diagnosis.


And while I have recently been seeing a different T, after 20+ yrs since termination of my first experience, it is for very different reasons having no connection to the former therapy. I would not even characterize this experience as being "in therapy," but rather, as consulting a therapist.