AG, thanks for that insight about your experience on the crisis lines. I hope that's what my T was doing, holding back a show of her feelings in my presence, not because she didn't have deep feelings but because she was trying not to make my session be all about them.

STRM, I think you are also right that being calloused would interfere with empathy. I don't see how one could have the patience and strength to be a good therapist day in and day out unless you were motivated by empathy.

The reason my T told me about the client's SU was because I first inquired whether that client would be going on an upcoming group therapy outing. She is a client I have met before on another group outing, and which I happen to have immature feelings of competitiveness and being possessive/territorial over T. It was really bad timing for me to be feeling jealous of her.