When I cry, my therapist does not touch me. But I feel his compassion and his emotional holding. It is wonderful.

Twice when I have been leaving, after particularly hard sessions, he has put his arm around my shoulders, from the side, and given me a sideways hug/squeeze, while saying "good work today" or something like that. It feels great and really makes me soar. Also, twice he has shaken my hand at the end of a session, but this just started since I started couples therapy with him, as he shakes my husband's hand. Maybe he thought I would feel left out if he shook my husband's hand and not mine. When I do individual sessions, I do not get the handshake.