Comment on My friend's boyfriend's therapist said that he is an abuser who is trying to look like the victim. What does this mean?

paysrenttobirds@sh.itjust.works ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

I’m not a therapist, so this is just a guess, but the “scared you off” comments and maybe the hints at depression could be seen as manipulative, especially when he really never wanted anything from the relationship beyond the online attention. He made her feel guilty for not spending more time and energy on him while exaggerating his own interest in her. Perhaps in his previous relationships the manipulation went further. Your friend needs to know she is not at all to blame for the end of this relationship. Nor is she dumb for caring about someone more than they cared about her: you can’t always tell. But perhaps she will take from it the idea that she could ask for things that are important to her, like in-person contact or space to be doing something other than talking to him without being nagged, sooner in the process to be sure the other person is on the same page. Help her understand that whatever anxiety she felt to shore up his emotions should be at most a small part of their interaction. A relationship shouldn’t feel like a tomagatchi pet.

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