TAS! I'm so happy to hear this. It doesn't mean that you can't go back to your T or never see him again, but I think getting a consultation with another T will be invaluable to you and your journey! I think it may help in any impasse you may be experiencing with your T. Good luck and keep us posted!

What erica said!

Good for you TAS. I really hope it helps.

go Tas!!

TAS,
I never thought I would have to get therapy for my therapy, but eventually I did consult with another therapist about my relationship with my therapist, and it helped. I am still with my original therapist and things have improved a great deal.

If you do go through with your decision to talk to another therapist, I hope it helps you, too.

Thanks for your encouragement.

Quell ... may I ask in what way it helped you? Could you share a little bit more about your experience (if you are comfortable)...

T.

Well, I was often angry and frustrated and critical of my therapist and I didn’t understand what he was doing, if anything, and I was not confident in him. And yet, I couldn’t leave. A big part of me didn’t want to leave and that confused me and frustrated me to no end.

The first relief with the consultant therapist was just in the process of explaining the whole situation to someone else who knew about therapy. I think you can learn a lot when you tell your story. Second, she helped me normalize some things and also validated some of my feelings about my therapy experience. She also provided a somewhat objective viewpoint…gently. She talked to my therapist with my permission. She let me talk it out. She eventually helped me get to the bottom of the critical, frustrated part of me versus the part of me that wanted to keep trying with him and make it work. That last bit really made a difference because I learned that some of the dynamic with my therapist had to do with how I reacted to my mother growing up, and there were a lot of conflicting emotions about all those things. In the end, I identified that continuing to work with him represented some kind of hope I had, and somehow I wanted that little girl part of me to go in the direction of hope, so I did.

The whole time my therapist knew that I was also seeing this other therapist because I told him about it. He was concerned about me seeing someone else and was a bit defensive at the very beginning, but because I was always honest with him (as much as I knew how to be)and because she also talked to him as a fellow professional, he quickly became supportive of it.

I still run on hope and blind faith with him sometimes, but I am a long way from wanting to quit with him now.

TAS,
Good for you!!


Hopeful

Well, I just found out the Therapist I am supposed to see tomorrow is actually in the same suite as the T I currently see...not sure if it is a good idea to see her...