Do any of you have experience doing this? I'm wondering if it's something that my T learned through her IFS or EMDR training, or is it a common practice with other orientations of therapy too?

It's amazing how the experience affected me. I felt so special and loved, even, when we had this conversation about what to do with my intense feelings at the end of the EMDR work. T wanted me to put the feelings in a container, and I said "okay, a box". She laughed and said maybe something more than a simple box. So, I said "a treasure chest." I asked "what if the feelings get out?" She said we can put air holes in it so they can breathe. Then I asked "where do I keep it?" She said "wherever you want." I said "here, in the office." She suggested the windowsill.

I think I still had my eyes closed, but I was aware of loving this "pretend, childlike playing" with my T about what the container was like, how my feelings would breathe, and where I could put it. It felt kind of like she was tucking me into bed, in a very loving way. It made me feel very satisfied.

Is that weird, or what? It seems like whatever I do in therapy gets me back to my basic need to be loved as a child.