I have 2 Ts...the first is really very empathetic overall and is always ready to hand me a tissue...or 3. He has "welled-up" himself on several occasions when I have gotten really upset, although not actually cried.

My newer T and I have an interesting relationship in that he says he can relate a lot to things I have been through, and he uses a lot of self-disclosure with me, which I find SO helpful because all my other Ts I have known nothing about and have never ever related to me like that. He says we are doing a form of "relational-psychodynamic" therapy which is fine with me...I wanted to see him specifically because I knew his therapy was psychodynamic-based. Anyway, I digress ALOT.

When he "welled-up" the other day he said he felt embarassed and like he should apologize, and I found myself, who was already crying, saying, "Oh, it's ok, Dr. My Other T does that all the time. Don't feel embarassed, it's ok." Anyway, I thought it was interesting he felt embarassed about it, and there I am crying and telling him it's okay for him to "feel his feelings." I guess it must not happen much to him? On Tuesday when I started to cry he got a bit upset (for me, that I was that upset) and stood up to bring me tissue and began patting at my face for me (I felt like a monkey being groomed, lol) and said, "I don't want to mess up your...." I only had a bit of eyeliner on, but I said, "It doesn't matter, really." That was an interesting experience though.

I never cried once in front of my ex-T. But we had a lot of complicated transference issues going on. Although my life was honestly a lot different back then, I wasn't depressed, and I am not sure if I COULDN'T cry in front of him, which was what he thought, and perhaps could be true, or if I just didn't need to.