I was in therapy because I had the "opposite" problem; my T use to say I carried my memories around with me on my back like a tortoise his shell/house :-) I've always been a stickler/good with remembering/memories and use to get extremely upset if I'd forget things. I think I had to keep everything the "same" when my mother died/"went away" for when she came back?

I think literal words still take on different meanings for different people. I think that's why therapists and clients or different therapists would pick different parts of a session as important. I'd wonder, "important" how? The "job" of client and therapist are very different too, so I'd think it was natural they'd pick different parts as more or less meaningful.

I agree with Mouse about having to exercise one's memory in order for it to work the best. I wouldn't want a tape of sessions both because it might influence what I wanted to "focus" on, what stood out, (like with a dream, you have to go with what you remember) and it would seem too much like a looking at the "past." After each session I always started getting ready for the "next" session; it was an ongoing process and I think listening to a previous session could possibly get me too hung up on somethings at the expense of moving forward.