I never got past this with previous therapists. I think part of that was due to the anxiety/fear becoming solidified over time. With the therapist I see now, I made a decision to get some of the tough things out from the get go, before withholding and fear became a pattern. It has worked really well.

Even now, when I feel myself unable to get to something deeper, I make myself not think about it, and just go for it. It's sort of like deciding to jump in the water without knowing how to swim, only to find the water's not nearly as treacherous as I'd thought it would be.