stopdog--do you think you lack empathy towards others? you said you had to learn it by watching others' reactions. would you say you genuinely care for someone, or people? because i can't see how you can truly care for someone/something and not have empathy.

in response: i'm not a huge fan of it in therapy. i agree with what other people are saying, i think T's say it to make sure they are on track with what you are saying. if T says "that must have hurt," you can agree or disagree and go forward. my T doesn't do it too often, and i have yet to be like "YES, I'M HEARD" lol. I also am not a huge fan of normalization. I often think "Yeah...so what?"