It seems like with the therapist is one of the few places where breaking it down is necessary. Your children are not (unless you are part of a greek tragedy) usually going to think you have other love for them except parental love (even where there is abuse etc - it is the only type the child knows from that person and gets interpreted as parental type of love), your husband is not usually going to mistake your love for parental love. Therapists and clients, on the other hand, have all sorts of problems with this - some clients want to be their therapist's child or lover or best friend or special all the time (then there are those of us who want them to be just the opposite and freak if they even say they like us) - so it is fairly prudent for the therapist to be specific (even if it is a dopey sounding phrase they use) in what the therapist means if they are going to use a loaded word such as "love." Look at all of the "what did the therapist mean by X" threads going on just on this forum? Add the word "love" into the mix and there can be real confusion.