You are being pretty manipulative about this. You really need to just be honest with her, remind her of whatever it is that she is apparently not remembering and MOVE FORWARD with the real work of therapy. This is just spinning your wheels and getting you nowhere.

As far as the emotional distancing goes, it is bound for failure. We deal with our emotions by being honest about them and using good coping skills when we need to. Avoidance will get you nowhere.

Hmm. "Getting you nowhere" seems to be a theme that perhaps you need to consider. Is that really what you want? To stagnate in your progress? Doesn't sound like a good plan.