I know you're looking for simple responses but "special" is sort of a loaded word. My T has told me that I am special to her, after I indicated once that I wished I was. My interpretation of what she meant is that she sees what is good and healthy and normal inside me, what it is about me and the way I exist in the world that makes me unique and worth caring about. I think she could have done that annoying therapisty "I think all my clients are special" thing (because it would likely be true based on that definition), but it means everything to me that she didn't. So yes, I think I am special to her, but I have no worries that me being special will lead to her blurring boundaries or hurting me.

She has also said that she appreciates and values the depth I am capable of working at. I feel really good about that and reassured that that's part of the reason when therapy wrecks me for days afterwards sometimes. But I don't know if that makes me special. I think it's more about the unique dynamic and possibilities that emerge between her and me when we're both putting as much as we can into the relationship.