I am impressed that my T knows what I need in order to tell him those things I too thought would go with me to the grave. It is more cajoling than pushing. Like a carrot on a stick, really only I get a bit of reward in advance for heading in the right direction (towards talking and not closing up.)

His voice will get soft, I'll feel like he is talking to me like a child and with anyone else it would seem patronizing, but with him I eat it up. I would admit anything just to be coddled like that. I'm not proud of it, but it works.

He will say things like "You and I are old friends, I don't think there is anything we can't talk about." Or if i'm sobbing and not verbalizing what is going on he will actually make this "shhh" sound as if I'm small again. He finds these ways of getting me to talk that in retrospect seem kind of manipulative but I feed on it like an addict and I don't care if it is a theraputic tactic.