PsyChris, the way the asking is done is critical. From several responses to the original question, I think I see that several people are assuming things about what the therapist's "real" motivation is. There are ways of phrasing things that let the patient know that the therapist has thought about it a lot, and knows how the patient may take it, and there are ways that let the patient know that the therapist has NOT thought a great deal about how the patient's past experience may lead her to perceive such questioning.