Ohh, poor kitty. I hope she had a good life.

For me, I do not imagine a safe space (sunny, breezy, rainbow, whatever etc). That is not what my T and I did in therapy. It was about making the space I share with him during therapy to be safe, not imagining some other distant place. To do that, he asked several times (quite early on), "what I can do to make it safe for you here?" And then I would think about what might help me feel safer, and then share those things with him. It didn't happen all at once, but he was very open to guidance from me. And it took some introspection from me on what would make me feel better. He can't know exactly what I need to feel safe, so I need to help him with that. It's a process, not fast. I get the feeling from you, pachy, that your T has never asked you what would make the space safe for you, but just told you what should make it safe for you. Yes, I agree, that is no help at all! It sounds like you have some good ideas about what would make it safe for you (the cat story is telling). You want a space where the therapist shows by his actions that he can be trusted. Somehow I get the feeling you have been through this with your T and not been able to achieve it. I'm sorry.