If he compliments me, it makes me worry he thinks I don't "deserve" to see him anymore, that my problems are not significant enough to see a therapist, that he should be spending his time on more needy clients. So I worry he is hinting, in a polite way, that I should stop coming to see him.

In my first months of therapy, he used to say, "you are better than 90% of the clients who walk through my door," and that gave me intense anxiety. I felt like he was saying that I was just not deserving enough of his services and shouldn't be there. At some point, I did discuss that with him and it wasn't what he had meant at all. He had meant that it was easier doing therapy with me from the get go because I was quite direct, honest, and communicative and he didn't have to work so hard getting me to be that way, as he does with most of his clients. So it was more of a comment on my communication style than anything else, not telling me I had no problems. Phew! That's a lesson for me to always seek clarification rather than jumping to conclusions about what a person really meant. I feel it is the bond between us that allowed me to be honest/direct and feel safe, not any skill I have. He made it possible!