My understanding is that in psychoanalysis, the analyst responses with questions or interpretations. Analysts definitely don't make statements like, "Aww, that sounds so _______." Or "Oh boy, that's rough." They're more like, "So, you think that ______ (insert analysis>."

This therapist is a person who I have some respect for. I just need for her to slow down, take one step and one thing at a time, not jump from A to Z, and give more therapeutic responses like in the Advil example. I'm lacking a lot of that "therapeutic" element in our work. I don't want to start all over again with another therapist. If things don't work out with this one, I'm done with therapy. And it's difficult to find a therapist who is going to be completely a 1 to 1 perfect fit. You're not going to find a therapist who fits you like a jigsaw puzzle. That's why I've been telling the therapist what works for me and what doesn't. But she expressed that I am criticizing her skills. Why you taking it personally, woman??

Sometimes when a patient is sharing something sh1tty or painful, sometimes analysis, questions, or a solution isn't what's helpful or needed at that point. Sometimes what can be so much more powerful is for the listener to just empathize and be like, "Yeah, that is tragic." Or "Oh boy, life is a real b1tch, isn't it?"