I think this is a really interesting discussion. I just want to add that as well as knowing how they are with me and so on, I know things about T's life, that he shares with me. I know this is not the case with all Ts and all therapies so just wanted to add that it depends on the T and on the approach. Ive never felt overburdened with this or that T was making therapy all about him, but it did help me hugely to be able to trust him. It really scared me in the first few sessions that I really didn't know anything about who he was aside from professional qualifications. Then I think it was in the fourth session, I was too stressed to speak at the beginning, and so T started chatting to me a bit and told me about something he had done recently with his wife and child. This helped me so much to have some context and be able to trust T - I can still remember the difference it made to me.