[QUOTE=Argonautomobile;5122493]My T said this once! I was fascinated. It took me a minute to figure out why it seemed like such an insincere thing to say. I finally asked, "Are they, though? Are feelings always valid? Can't feelings be over-reactions? Or unfair? What if they're catastrophizing, irrational, or black-and-white? Are they still valid, then?"

Argonautomobile - from a certain perspective it seems not only insincere but totally vacuous. And as you have described it - if a feeling is a consequence of a certain interpretation, or pattern of interpretation, and that interpretation or pattern is skewed, then in what way is the feeling 'valid'? My former T practiced CBT so perhaps this is the reason he never went for that type of response

I think if one is trying to push away a feeling, or one has trouble acknowledging ones own feelings then there is some sort of purpose to this statement. It means be with yourself, or maybe accept yourself. The odd thing is that it never comes across to me in that way; it always seems like a subtle admonition...