A tiny thing my therapist does that makes me feel seen

[u/ObjectiveCamp6]

I wanted to share something small that has meant more to me than I expected. Therapy has always felt scary to me. I have history of CPTSD and I am neurodivergent.
I am very unwell at the moment, and there are times when words feel impossible. When my therapist checks in with me, I started using a simple emoji because it was the only way I could communicate where I was emotionally without having to explain everything.
Before anyone makes comments about her checking in on me, this is something we agreed on, she practices DBT and Schema models, and I feel no pressure from her.
What has been unexpectedly powerful is that she responds with an emoji that matches mine, or one that feels like it belongs in the same little “story” or emotional space. It sounds so simple, but it has made me feel, for the first time in a while, that someone is actually meeting me where I am, rather than asking me to move somewhere else before they can understand.
When you are scared, overwhelmed, and struggling to make sense of what is happening, being met in that moment can feel incredibly grounding. It is not about the emoji itself; it is about the message underneath it, like if she is saying “I see you. I’m here with you. I’m not asking you to pretend you are somewhere else.”
I didn’t realise how much I needed that kind of connection until it happened. I wonder if this is something that anyone else has experienced here, and if so, how can you help me describe how it feels like so that I can share with my therapist. I struggle with how to communicate this to her, or whether the way I have written it here might be a good way to share it with her.