Yesterday my therapist told me he would be away next week and I wouldn’t be able to see him until the following Wednesday. He then told me that he’d be away for two weeks later in September, during which he’d be unreachable. He thought he had told me this before. He hadn’t. This really really upset me. I can’t imagine a therapist who sees a patient three times a week forgetting to tell the patient that he’s going away.

This completely blindsided me. As I said, I have been seeing him three times per week since June and he is something of a lifeline for me as I go through the most difficult period of my life (anxiety). To make matters more complicated is the fact that I have a major decision to make next week regarding my job, and I may be relocating to take a new one. He will not be around to help me through this.

I understand that he has a lot of clients, is very busy and is human, but would this be a reason to consider ending therapy with him? I feel my trust for him has been damaged by this. I also wonder if part of feeling so crushed and hurt by this is me projecting feelings from past failed relationships onto him. Am I over-reacting?

I should say that even though my progress has been slow, his insights have been pretty spot on and have really helped me, so he IS a good therapist, and the idea of searching for a new one and starting over is not very appetizing.

Thanks so much for any feedback.
Russ