Weirdly enough, I started writing a thread like this yesterday but changed my mind, but now I read a post about something related which kindled my interest again.
Some therapists give their clients compliments - and by "compliment" I mean "positive statement about a person", I don't include any aspect of insincerity in the term as I use it here. I think we can assume that therapists don't give compliments lightly or without meaning them - their job is not to stroke our ego, so when they say something about us, they presumably mean it. (I'm sure there are exceptions, but I'm choosing to discount those for the moment.) These compliments can fall into at least three categories: compliments about our personalities (for instance intelligent, pleasant), compliments about our actions in therapy (e.g. bravery, honesty), and compliments about our appearance (beauty, clothing style).
In my case, my T does not give me compliments in general. Most of the time, he makes no value statements at all, about me or other people. He has called me brave a couple of times, when I've brought up topics that are frightening for me to talk about. He has said that he trusts me, in connection with my telling him about sui thoughts but not acting on them. Once when I said "I'm actually not an unpleasant person outside this office" he implied that he did not necessarily think that I'm an unpleasant person in his office either, though he didn't actually say so. He has said - as a response to a direct question from me - that he likes me, which means a lot to me. And he has called me "very human" a number of times, and I consider that a real compliment, given the context. I have always had a positive feeling about the compliments T has given me. I have received compliments that have made me feel bad, so I know that is possible, but it has not happened with T.
On the other hand, a session or two ago he indirectly confirmed that he agrees with me that I am physically unattractive. (That hurt, I must admit. Although I do appreciate his honesty.) What I would really like for him to say is that he thinks I'm intelligent. I think that's a childish wish, but I imagine that T would call the wish "human".
What are your experiences and thoughts about Ts and compliments? I know and respect that some people really don't want compliments from their Ts, but I don't think there is anything wrong about feeling pleased when we do get them. And I don't think there is any universal truth about whether compliments are good or bad for people, it's all a matter of context, as well as personal opinions and experiences. Positive statements that make us feel good are probably in many cases a positive thing, and positive statements that make us feel bad are probably often bad, but that's as general as I venture to be