Maybe he means validation more than understanding? Because I've found that's been something really meaningful to me with therapy. As I feel I lacked (still do!) validation from my parents as a child/teen/adult. I tend to have a lot of self-doubt and fear that I'm overreacting to things. So my T validating my feelings or something like "I understand why that would be painful" or "Your D is a very challenging child to raise" can mean a lot to me.