intimacy defined

In the midst of an otherwise thoroughly depressing article in the NY Times Sunday Magazine about the limits of marriage counseling, is this gem of a sentence that I will now carry with me (slightly modified so that it will make sense out of context):

Intimacy begins when one person expresses revealing feelings;
intimacy builds when the listener responds with support and empathy; and
intimacy is achieved when the (initial) discloser hears this support and empathy and feels understood, validated and cared for.

I think that is very well stated.