Keep in mind that you hear and see more negative stories because is just human nature that the troubling experiences are shared more than the beautiful and wonderful experiences.

A good therapist keeps the boundaries of therapy intact and consistent. My therapy is talk therapy and I know I am safe because I have experienced her acceptance, patience, concern, empathy, and more. I know this is how it will always be with her. It took me 9 months to talk much at all but she just kept being there patiently waiting. I had been in therapy before and it wasn't helpful. This time I researched types of therapies and therapists. I found that I wanted a therapist who was psychoanalytically oriented. I contacted the psychoanalytic institute in the largest city near me and asked for a referral to a candidate who is in my location. The candidates are highly screened therapists who are students at the institute; my therapist had been a therapist for over 20 years at that time. I have to add that my therapist is a LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor) and there was a time that I thought nothing but a PhD would do. In my experience, this is the best help I've received and that includes several PhD's that I saw. We simply talk. No guided imagery, hypnosis, play, touching, etc. It is just talking.

It takes time to become comfortable and to allow trust to grow, while talking about it the whole time. I've had many discussions on trust, my fears, my suspicions, my discomfort, etc with my therapist. She is always willing to talk about anything I want to talk about. I feel better than I have for a long time. That feeling better came gradually, like a scrape that heals up slowly over time. I still have much work to do, and that's okay. I really like being there and talking to her.