That does sound like a very tough situation.

A couple of years ago my T's husband passed away from cancer. It was a really quick illness and was very sudden. She had to take a sudden leave for about six months- one day she was there and the next she was away. I honestly didn't even know if she would come back (although in fairness to her, her colleague did tell me she would be in touch when she was ready to).

Anyway, I bring this up only because normally, in an ideal therapy situation, we aren't really meant to know personal info about the T. It was hard when she came back because I had a lot of feelings about her absence- feelings about her specific situation and her feelings, worrying about how she was doing, and then there was the stuff on my end- missing her, feeling left behind- but then feeling selfish that I was worried about myself when she was going through a lot.

However, in the end, it actually has really helped me. I've been able to see her as more human. She's been wonderful about modelling good healthy boundaries with me, but also not being a blank slate, which is very helpful for me.

I also agree with what some of the others have said- he probably really does "enjoy" his work as a healthy distraction from his life, at times.

Hopefully you can have a conversation with him more about what has come up for you, and he can reassure you.