I agree with this. I think they can be useful in showing progress--particularly the triumphs. Though I think it can be useful for a T to understand what brings us joy as well--like my T knows that music, particularly live music, has a lot of meaning for me and can bring me lots of joy. So that helps him understand more if I'm talking about something involving music. And I think it gives him a better sense of me as a person--if I only talked about the negative, he might have less of a sense of how to help me. I guess it's part of knowing what motivates me, too. And the validation when I have some sort of triumph can feel good and affirming as well--with his confirming that something I did is progress. I mean, ideally, I guess I ultimately wouldn't need that validation/confirmation, that just my feeling I've made progress is enough, but it's helpful for me at this point in my therapy.