I've had the same experience and felt the same ambivalence. T told me I easily get sucked into the past - and thus into past emotional states. He would often say that was then, this is now. And I would also feel like yes, but me-back-then wants recognition and care... At the same time, if he HAD given me that response I may have continued to be consumed by the past. At least one other T I have had (who had a more depth therapy approach) would spend more time on memories, associations and working the past out. This actually left me feeling disorganized and a bit incoherent. However, there were other issues in that therapy - lack of boundaries, etc, that made it problematic.