When Loneliness Crosses Professional Boundaries

The Human Diagnostic · May 30, 2026 · 22m

Format: Post-call (and several months after) Runtime: ~8 minutes Source: Psychology , loneliness and social hunger (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008); parasocial relationship extension; the boundaries of service relationships This one unfolds slowly. I want to tell you about a customer and what happened over about six months, because that's how long it takes for this kind to show itself fully. First call was a tune-up. Early in the spring. He was retired, early seventies, wife travels a lot for her work , she was gone when I got there. He was perfectly pleasant. We talked while I worked. He had…