I hope that in that indirect sort of agreement about your attractiveness, there is room for the possibility of hearing a negative you expect more than hearing a negative he said.

I know there are thoughts that Ts shouldn't compliment because it can be a way of encouraging a value-based expectation in clients. It does express a value judgement of sorts. I think, like most things, there's a bit of truth in that, but also a bit of positive feeling that is benign in most cases. I think if a T compliments a lot, I would question what purpose is being served and whether it's a healthy one. And of course, some people may react very negatively to compliments for any number of reasons, so the reason for giving them would have to be pretty strongly beneficial to overcome that.

My T did compliment, but rarely. The only ones I remember were character or action-based. He said he respected me (that was the first and astonished me), when I was at the lowest point of depression, because I forced myself to be functional--that I was fighting. And he said I was honest in response to making myself very vulnerable. He's said I am thoughtful on numerous occasions; or statements about me not recognizing my talents, which I suppose is sort of a compliment. I never doubted his sincerity at those times, even if I didn't see the same quality he did, so in that sense I felt positively. I think because those moments were rare, they also made me feel special; not because of the content of the compliment, but more my sense that he was crossing a boundary to say them. Like it was that important to him that he would bend the frame.