New highly cross-linked polysiloxanes were prepared by sol−gel polymerization of 1,6-bis(diethoxymethylsilyl)hexane (1) and 1,4-bis(diethoxymethylsilyl)benzene (2). Hydrolysis and condensation of 1 and 2 under acidic and basic conditions with 4 equiv of water led to the rapid formation of hexylene- and phenylene-bridged polysiloxane gels. The dry gels (xerogels) were intractable, insoluble materials that were noticeably hydrophobic, exhibiting no swelling in organic solvents or water. Most of the xerogels were high surface area, mesoporous materials. Hexylene-bridged polysiloxanes prepared under acidic conditions were always nonporous regardless of whether they were processed to afford xerogels or supercritically dried as aerogels. Hexylene-bridged polysiloxanes prepared under basic conditions and all of the phenylene-bridged polysiloxanes were mesoporous with surface areas as high as 1025 m2/g.

This qualitative study explores empathic listening from the vantage point of 5 female clients engaged in consecutive therapeutic relationships with two different therapists, a male and a female. Previous experiences of being “misunderstood” or “not heard” stood in stark contrast to experiences of being empathically understood in their relationships with the two therapists. Participants experienced being heard when therapists created a safe space for selfexploration, were actively and genuinely engaged in the therapeutic dialogue (paraphrasing, clarifying, questioning, and remembering details), and did not flinch when painful material was brought to the therapeutic process. Each participant’s experience of being heard was idiosyncratic and reflected something of what she had been missing in previous interpersonal encounters. Empathic listening emerges as a relational, interactional variable unique to each therapeutic encounter examined and not reducible to a technique or skill.

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