On the comparison of emails and hugs, I definitely emailed my Ts a lot but hugs in therapy probably would have never even occurred to me if I had not read about it here on PC. Still, I would never want a hug from a T, not just because I am not a big hugger in general but also because I associate hugs with entirely mutual, spontaneous affection. I can't even wrap my mind around the fact that some people find requested hugs pleasant and helpful. I would have never wanted to be touched by my first T under any circumstances. With second T, I could definitely imagined hugs and other affection but only if we met in a complete different context, e.g. as friends, lovers or close colleagues. I think a hug with that T, as a T, might have achieved only one thing: trigger some sexual feelings, because I generally found him quite attractive and pleasant. But nothing like an increased sense of caring or support.

Email, for me, serves an entirely different role - it is for discussion / sharing stories and analyses, asking questions, settling practical things like scheduling. I even disliked when my T would just send back an email to say he had received mine, I found that somewhat silly and definitely useless in my case and told the T so. He then stopped that sort of emailing and only responded when he had something to actually respond and even then very briefly. That emaling with a T worked much better for me. I did not like when they engaged extensively because it just reinforced my compulsion and made me feel bad that I had the compulsion.