Professional Boundaries vs. Human being-with

This question has been niggling at me for years, and when I ask it of the general population I have a hard time making sense of the response.

So I thought I'll ask the question here, and see what arises. I feel like a little kid who's walking around town asking the grownups a question and waiting patiently until I come across the one who offers a response that settles something inside of me.

My wondering is about why people go to psychotherapists- what do they find in the encounters with the psychotherapist that they're unable to have with ordinary people.

To me, psychotherapy seems another way to commercialize basic human interactions. The license is a piece of it. I see the license as something that gets in the way of authentic connection.

I guess this post is driven by an encounter I had yesterday with one who offered me a ''free coaching'' session. Why not, I thought. I've got lots on my mind and heart, and some support may be of use. I approached the encounter with caution, and with an understanding that if the coach was wanting to engage the mind, to the exclusion of the body, I'd graciously bow out of the free session.

So we got started with our free session. Shortly after the start, the coach said that hearing me speak gave rise to an impulse in him to want to help me, to help put an end to the suffering I'm experiencing on account of the government. At the same time, said the coach, there was the issue of boundaries.

At which point my innocent naive being wondered what the grown-up term ''boundaries'' meant. I have heard this word used before. I've heard it used many times before. I've heard it used so often, I wonder if it's just another currency- like money.

I recall a number of years back, when the CPS drama began to unfold, I went to a psychoanalyst to air my distress. The psychoanalyst offered to write a letter to CPS, indicating their actions were harming the family. I then asked her if she'd be willing to offer me money to pay for effective legal counsel. She said she would not offer me money. I asked her why not. I mean, really, why not. If she was so moved to help me with a letter, what was keeping her from helping me with some money? The question remained hanging in the air, her truth well protected behind lock and key. We eventually parted ways, not without a heaping of reprimand hurled my way. Thankfully, my soul stirred and steered me out of there.

When I ask about the meaning of boundary, I ask what it means in your own heart. I'm not asking what the dictionary says about boundaries, or what the social workers are taught in school about boundaries. I ask what is going on for you in your heart and soul in that moment when you say you have to keep boundaries.

Can you relate? At all?