We may feel "helpless" when we are "powerless" to change something.

There are some things that we cannot control, no matter how strong we are or how much we want to. Beating our head against the wall in frustration accomplishes nothing. But we can control our reaction/response to these things.

On the rare occasions when I've been able to see that something is beyond my control, accepting it (and the fact that I can't change it) makes me feel more powerful than raging against it. I think this is really important, and was the point your T was trying to make. Sounds odd, but accepting your powerlessness (is that a word??) can make you more empowered.

Wish I could explain it better ... I just know it's happened to me a few times, and I get it. Wish I could do it all the time .....