I don't know if this helps you at all, but I haven't found that my T's statements (in terms of content) are useful to me. There are a couple of notable exceptions, the most recent one was when I was discussing a medical problem that my wife has, I had all kinds of irrational thoughts/feelings about the situation, things that I would never do or say out loud, such as what if she died? would I date again? My T said, they're just thoughts that come to you, you don't have to feel guilty or think you're a bad person for having them. That actually helped me, maybe I'm just thick in the head, I should have known this before T said it. But her stating it out loud, even though I "knew" it at some level, just interrupted the whole negative cycle and I was able to let it go.

I get some value out of what she says when I describe my experience of something. She'll reflect on it with her own experience or someone else she knows. I don't think her point is to just normalize it. The point for me is to compare and contrast what she says with my own understanding. Sometimes I'll say, "yeah, but mine is different because . . . " or find another distinction. Or what she says resonates with my experience and I'll say, "yeah, I think the worst part about it was the guilt." So I sort of use her statements as a springboard to think more deeply about whatever issue it is.

I think I'd call that "communication" or "interaction". It is an intervention in my mind.