I'm actually a little surprised. My therapist never does this, ever. Is that strange?
I think our nonverbal connection is unusually supercharged. It's hard to describe. When I think about it, she does actually ask "do you understand"/"are you hearing me," but it's not with words; it's with a certain facial expression or uniquely nuanced silence. When she does this, I know to nod or give my own subtle facial expression. When I fall silent for a very long time, she might "what's going on?" or "what are you thinking?" I don't know how I would feel if my therapist were to ever regularly request I repeat after her. I think I would either become highly irritated, or feel weirdly pleased by the extra attention.

I wonder if she does that with other clients? I wonder if a certain type of client sometimes, in a way, requires that sort of check-up? I myself depersonalize often enough, so I wonder if it's more than that. A temperament, maybe?