we talk about things in terms of what is happening in the "now". I talk about reactions I have to things, even if they don't make sense.
For a lot of years, I had no access to anything "solid". I simply had reactions and symptoms that could not be explained by my known history. Eventually, some more stuff surfaced, but we didn't push it (and still don't. I have a lot of trouble believing these "new" memories)... we're still in the early stages of working on things.
I've had several T's tell me there were unaddressed things from the past that were interfering with the present, but we never really delved into what it was. Most thought it had to do with more intense abuse issues... Mostly, T's just went with what I presented in the moment. It's just been in the last 2 or 3 years that we have begun to tackle the "new" stuff.