I would say a mix, but considerably more validating than invalidating.

I had an extra session* with him today, as I was struggling with some stuff regarding my D that came out right at the end of yesterday's session (like with 10 minutes left). Today, he was incredibly validating about many things that I was feeling and experiencing. It was just what I needed this week.

He said how I'd been dealing with a lot the past couple months, with D's additional diagnosis (of intellectual disability, on top of already-diagnosed autism and ADHD) and H having hip surgery, which left me in charge of many things. That he wondered if maybe I was concerned that this would be what the rest of my life would be like--as in, D living with us for the rest of our lives, my not really having much time or space to myself, etc.

I started crying as soon as he said that. Then said I felt bad for feeling it. He said I didn't have to feel bad about it, how the majority of parents look forward to eventually having an "empty nest," even if they have mixed emotions about it. And that not knowing what the future holds (in terms of whether D could ever live independently) can be very difficult.

We talked some more about that, processing her new diagnosis, etc. And I said, "I guess it's like grieving in a way." Dr. T: "There's no 'like' about it--it *is* grief." And that felt very validating.

There was other stuff, too, which I might write up later. Oh, and I ended up addressing his answering a call from his wife in the middle of a session--the tornado warning one--and he agreed that it was "awkward." He said he only answered because she called twice in a row (emergency signal), and that he tries not to let his home life "bleed into" his work. (That came up earlier in the session, when I was talking about how I wasn't sure if I was past the rupture, how there had been assorted disruptions to my sessions in the past few weeks. I hadn't intended to bring that specific incident up, but it sort of came out, and I think it's better that I did finally address it, as it had been nagging at the back of my mind--not so much the fact that he answered the call, but that he sat there talking to her in the room with me instead of stepping into the hall or something.)

*Well, it still adds up to the same number as usual per week; we'd just only scheduled 2 because he was out Monday.