I think this is a good (and sometimes overlooked) point. If we're having a pleasant, low-key half-hour or hour chatting with the therapist, I think it's a pretty safe bet that s/he's having a pleasant time, too.

And if that pleasant session is following a day (or a week, or a month) of what feels like constant client crises, then the reprieve might feel like a god-send that the T is loathe to break.

I can always tell when my T is too tired to dig or touch anything uncomfortable. He'll engage in chit-chat without re-directing. I can certainly go somewhere uncomfortable on my own, but he won't help me get there.