I was with my first therapist for about 7 months, then took a break of 4 months, then resumed. I had really needed a break because I was under a lot of pressure in my life, and had been trying to make progress on solving my problems in therapy, and had reached a point where we were not making headway. Therapy was adding to my stress and not helping anymore, so I needed a "vacation" from therapy in order to cope with my life better. After 4 months, I was ready to start working on the problems again in therapy. I think I only went for about 3-4 sessions and realized then without a doubt that I had reached the limit of this therapist's ability to help. So, I guess you could say, the return to therapy didn't go well, but it actually didn't go badly. I think the long break from therapy helped me know better what would and wouldn't help, and it was easier to conclude that therapy was not helping once I had more distance and objectivity. Some months later I began therapy with my current T, almost accidentally, and immediately it was apparent he could help me (he had a bigger skill set than the first therapist).

Nola, I think your therapy sounds like it has the potential to go really well the second time around. You now have the benefit of hindsight and as you said, you see that you were a recalcitrant client. That makes me think you will not be recalcitrant this time, and that can only help. Good luck