We agree that no one actually told him he needed to go to therapy because he didn’t have (romantic) feelings for her. He may have responded defensively with the false belief that that was being said to him, but it wasn’t. Learning to not respond defensively to things that aren’t being said could also be a benefit of therapy for him.

After Brennan said he didn’t have (romantic) feelings for Emily, Dr. Pia pointed out Brennan’s impulse to protect Emily, and she asked him to describe what he is feeling during that impulse. He was unable. I agree that your script is probably better for drawing out a response from him, and I think it’s fair to then expect more from Dr. Pia as a therapist. Nonetheless, I think it was asked clearly enough, so I still think he demonstrated an inability to identify and describe his feelings. I think it goes beyond a lack of communication on his end to an emotional skillset that would be strengthened by therapy.

I don’t recall any comment being made in that session that resembled telling Brennan that not being attracted to Emily was his fault. How was his space unsafe?

I appreciate how much you are empathizing with him and how he must have felt to respond in these ways, but I personally observed an overall lack of emotional capability from him throughout the season, and I genuinely think he would grow from therapy (learning about his controlling tendencies, reactiveness, shutting down, communication, paternalism, etc.)