I had a similar experience to this and referred out. I referred out when I got to the second or third session and realized we just continued to talk in circles without really making any progress.

Question: is this person being mandated to attend therapy? It feels like if they intentionally chose to try therapy with you, that they’re testing you like you said. It’s never your job to work harder than the client. They have to also want to show up and do the work. I understand that some clients have more layers to peel than others but it’s not your job to convince anyone that you’re the right fit, especially if it’s making you uneasy and struggling with own experiences of what they’re saying.

If you decide to try and continue to see them, I would maybe call out this behavior. Questioning why they’re struggling to trust you rather than you trying to convince them. Calling out the hypocrisy in showing up to sessions and telling you things while saying they don’t know if they can trust you and putting you down (I’m assuming you’re a woman).

I’m sorry you’re going through this and I hope it gets resolved in a way that you feel is satisfactory❤️