This phenomenon can also be called the “eternal therapist syndrome”, and it is essential to talk about it because it can affect both the psychologist and the client. During psychological counseling, two people work collaboratively within the framework of solving the client's problem. This can take a long period. Since the fundamental ingredient of the process is the atmosphere of trust and a good therapeutic relationship, it is assumed that these two individuals sympathize with each other. A very diverse dynamic can occur between them, as clients often perceive their psychologist as their parents, partner, or other important figures in their lives. There's also the factor that they meet each other regularly for long months or years – let's be honest, this is much more than an adult can usually integrate with their closest family members or friends in their daily lives.

We might say, as a result of all these aspects, that the client and their psychologist become part of each other's lives for the duration of the counseling process. It can be very difficult to step out from such a close, trusting, and supportive relationship in certain cases. The client may develop an emotional dependency on their psychologist. In such instances, they feel that the specialist is the only one who understands them, making it hard to imagine the relationship ending. They can also feel uncertainty about coping independently, fearing they may not be able to manage their problems alone in the future.

And since this is a two-way relationship, we must also discuss the psychologist as they are just as human as their clients, full of feelings and thoughts. They meet some clients more than their own friends or family members, and those people also become part of the psychologist's life as they meet weekly in the office. The psychologist can also worry about how clients will manage once they no longer support their journey, finding it difficult to let go of some clients, considering that they may never meet again.

Nevertheless, it is clear that it is the psychologist's responsibility that the therapeutic process only lasts until the client's problem persists or until the set therapeutic goals are achieved together. That's why goal setting is important. If we do not establish therapeutic goals, how would we know if we've reached them? Often, we evaluate our well-being based on very subjective viewpoints, but we can make the assessment of results much more objective if we add facts alongside feelings.

Through the psychologist, a gradual distancing from the counseling process can help clients to experience closure without anxiety and be able to apply the skills acquired during the counseling process step by step in real life.