I think what I experience is both similar and different. Back awhile now when I was doing some trauma work, I was having terrible flashbacks of an incident when I was a young adult where I was rescued by a stranger. When I would have a flashback and start to get lost in the big emotions of it, I had enough distance to be able to conjure up my T inside the memory as the man who helped me.

I was ashamed of this, called it "unauthorized use of a therapist", told my T about it. He thought it was fine and explained that in the theory of the neurobiological of trauma, one of the reasons why they believe talk therapy is helpful is because the presence of supportive person why recalling or remembering the trauma changes the neural pathways that are "engraved" by the trauma. Interrupt those pathways, and then the PTSD symptoms tend to recede. The "story" changes. This was certainly true for me, that was pretty much the beginning of the end of needing to talk about some of the last traumatic incidents (I thought I'd finished 15 years earlier).

I haven't had such difficulty with flashbacks and other PTSD/anxiety reactions for a while now, but when I did, I imagined I was in his office with him.

Maybe this is internalization, I am not sure. I don't so much here his voice as much as feel in his physical presence. It's not like I've internalized him per se but instead beam myself emotionally to be connected to the safe person and safe space that he represents for me.

There actually is a memoir by this title "Your voice in my head" about a former client and her therapist. It's an OK read but not really consistent with my taste in memoirs.

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Voice-My.../dp/1590515404