Rainbow, I agree with BlueMoon, you will learn a lot at the first session.The T's demeanor and way of responding will tell you oodles. Since the therapist relationship is one of the most important components of therapy, you will be learning a lot.

I have had two first visits, since I've had 2 therapists, and they were totally different, so it is hard to predict what yours will entail. My first T took a very formal history, and wanted to know all sorts of unrelated stuff, like how many drinks I had each day, whether I smoked, etc. (I was not there for anything related to addiction.) The first session was really quite dull. I think this T didn't have the confidence and experience to talk with me without this formal history. My second T wanted to know what brought me to see him, and that's what we talked about--what was relevant. He was able to learn a lot about me through our discussion instead of by rote questioning. He also wanted to know about my relationship with my mother, LOL. (Classic!) And he told me about himself and then told me a lot about EMDR, because he was proposing we do this. I learned a tremendous amount from him through his affect and reactions to me.

Therapy really begins the moment you walk in that office, even though it may not seem like you are "doing therapy." If you aren't sure after one session, you can have a second.

[quoute]Does it have to be like "starting over" with a new T? I want to get right to the issues.[/quote]One thing you don't need to do is go over everything you have worked on with former therapists. You may have worked on important issues in the past and resolved them successfully. You don't need to tell the new T all the past stuff. You can just start where you are at that day.