What happens if a therapist challenges a client beyond what is mentally comfortable for them?
Therapy happens.
Psychotherapy is not a soothing mental massage session, even though an effective massage therapist may make you a bit uncomfortable at times, or a personal trainer, or your doctor.
A good therapist makes sure you’re safe and feel protected by all the healthy boundaries in place, and sometimes that means offering the comfort of empathic listening without much interpretation, or even flat out reassurance, to help get your feet on the ground.
Normally, though, it’s about moving, getting better results in your life, increasing skills and insights and making new discoveries and commitments.
That means the therapist is going to nudge gently against your resistance when the time is right, and in those moments you’ll feel a little challenged, a little uncomfortable.