As someone who just had a successful session, I feel qualified to answer this!

Being understood and all that entails. Being listened to--not argued with, corrected, or dismissed. Not misinterpreted. Everything you want to say comes out the way you intend it to, without a bunch of extraneous explaining. Or self-doubt.

And then...

Synthesis. The therapist not only listens to what you are saying, but is able to give you insight. And not generic "phoning it in" insight, but insight indicative of someone who's well-versed on your life history and personality. You can see the cogs of your therapist's mind turning in her eyes. You know she's paying attention to you...that you are giving her new information and she's making the connections that you can't see or articulate. And she lays it out for you so that you leave with something.

And finally...

No manufactured responses or emotions. You are emotionally honest and uninhibited. You are real.

That's what happened today to me. My therapist and I were on the exact same wavelength for a change, and I've never felt more understood by anyone in my life as I do right now. I'm actually already feeling disappointed about next week's session because it can't possibly be as good as this one was.