I tend to turn the question right back at her. If she says, "How was your week?", I will normally say, "It was okay, what did you do? Have you had a busy day?"

Thankfully, she will answer (most of the time). We do have about 10 minutes of small talk. But she will keep coming back to the same question she started with. I do email between session, so she knows what is going on. If it is about my husband, she will ask, "How are you and __________ doing?"

Of course, I avoid it. She will let me 'small talk', but every chance she gets, she will go back to, "I want you to talk about __________." It used to be terribly awkward, (back in the beginning of therapy). It got easier once we really got to know each other.

I journal a lot. When I am really ready to start, I hand her my notes. She always asks, "Do you want me to read this out loud?" Sometimes I want her to, sometimes I don't.