Thank you so much for bringing to my attention Don's error in understanding testing. You do a fine job of clariflying the misunderstanding. Joe Weiss offered the following response: "Testing (which may be unconscious) is a fundamental process that we all use to find out, how we may affect, or be affected in our relationships with others. For example a man tests a woman he is considering dating to determine whether she is likely to go out with him. A child tests his parents to determine how they are likely to react to some initiative he would like to take.
In therapy a patient tests the therapist to determine how he may affect the therapist or be affected by the therapist. He hopes by such testing to disprove certain pathogenic beliefs he holds about himself and his interpersonal world. For example- if he believes he maybe rejected if he is independent he may try to disprove this belief by testing the therapist. He may experiment by behaving independently hoping that the therapist will not react by rejecting him. If the therapist does not he may take a small step toward disproving his pathogenic belief."
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