I don't feel so alone.
I feel accepted, heard, and cared about.
It has helped in that it is truthful - no social niceties required, although she is as nice as can be. She is free to tell me what she's hearing me say, spoken or unspoken, and as she told me early on, she will "not always say what you want to hear".

idk, it is hard to separate the therapy from the therapy relationship sometimes. The relationship of acceptance and trust has allowed me the courage to explore things and an interested person to explore them with. It's given me opportunities to evaluate my perceptions and see if they are accurate and if not, why. It's given me the experience of sharing the mundane and not mundane details of my life and my real life relationships and learn more about them; to learn about my part and my fears and wishes.