My problem is that when I go into therapy, I tend to feel that if I can't go into some really deep conversation, that the session was a failure. She is working with me to help me feel that it is okay to talk about something that happened today, yesterday, or a week ago. I tend to think unless I am in some state of extreme emotion, I didn't do any 'work' in that session.

Yes, we absolutely go back to my childhood, teens, young adult years. We go through heartches, disappointments, abusive relationships, etc....I just feel that I need a break from that right now. She tells me something like, "We can take a break, but just know that we will come back and revisit those areas of your life that are still affecting you today."

I think she is trying to help me see that no matter how small the 'issue' is, it is not dumb, stupid, frivolous, unimportant, etc....for me to need to talk with her about it. I have a habit of 'shutting down' in therapy. This is because I either don't want to talk about something, or I don't think I have anything really that important to talk about.

For me, just being 'casual' for a little while is what I need. She agrees with me that this may be what we need to do at this point. If I can feel relaxed and comfortable in sessions, I think the really 'emotional/hard' stuff may come up on its own. I think it will surface when I least expect it. I overplan way too much. I need to let things happen a bit more naturally in sessions.