I've been in CBT with the same therapist for 1.5 years. I think we have a solid therapeutic relationship.

We are working on my core beliefs that I'm "defective", "unlikable", "different" (you get the point).

I've brought up the fact that my sexual orientation (bisexual) makes me feel "different" and I have had many people react extremely negative to me coming out. I mentioned that I worry that if "people knew" they might avoid/reject me/make judgments. I've also shared past struggles (feelings for same-sex friends, assumptions people have made about me, and general shame.)

I feel that this ties into my "unlikable/defective/different" schema, and I think I have made that very clear. However, every time I bring the subject up - she really doesn't follow up or say anything - not even a generic emphatic comment like "that must be so difficult" or even "there is NOTHING wrong with you".

The first time I brought my bisexuality up, she just said that she is very open-minded, she doesn't think any differently about me because I'm bi, and that she conceptualizes sexual orientation as a spectrum. She also said that were she is from, people are very open/liberal about sexual orientation. This was a reasonable answer, but I remember her saying something like "let's set this aside". "This" being my sexual orientation, I suppose.

I want to believe that she truly does not have a problem with it. She has not said anything judgmental, and she really treated me the same after my disclosure. However, I can't understand why she just doesn't say anything when I talk about it, but jumps at any other topic. It's clear that it is an issue for me.

I want to bring this up to her, but I don't want her to get defensive. Also, I like her a lot, and I worry she'll say this is "outside her scope of competence" and will want to refer me to an LGBT therapist (I'm in treatment for depression, so I'm not looking for LGBT counseling, even though sexual orientation is an issue.)

She trained/lived in big cities, so I'm sure she has been exposed to LGBT patients.

Thoughts about what might be going on and how to bring it up?