No, I did this, not my therapist. My therapist provides an environment of safety and trust and openness in which I am able to grow and change, when I am ready. He never said to me that if I learn to access and experience my feelings, that I would have so much more energy. I said all that after it occurred. I simply reported to him what I experienced. He liked it. (Perhaps he's seen it in many clients, or perhaps just a few). And he said he was honored to have been a part of that and share in that with me. Of course, I don't think I would have come to that without him, but yet he doesn't have a goal that this is what I should experience and do. Everyone is different. He doesn't know what I need--I am the expert on that (or so he insists).

Not often. That would veer into the realm of my being analytical and wanting to discuss techniques on an intellectual level, which would keep me from doing the real work of my therapy. I have only limited time with my T, so I don't want to discuss method with him, I want to reserve our time for him to help me uncover past hurts, feel them, and put them to rest, etc. We do occasionally talk about method, such as when we first did EMDR. It's kind of an odd technique, so I think getting an explanation was helpful to me. My T is my therapist, whereas the person you describe as a mentor sounds perhaps more like an educator (this person is not your T?)? My T can teach me a lot, but it helps that teaching is not the focus of therapy, but just happens as we move along. My therapy is more experiential than didactic.