pbutton, I used to have this same problem with my T, because he got super busy with lots of clients and my own schedule was busy too. We always schedule the next appointment at the close of our session, and he only had openings 5 weeks out that worked for both of us. So what we did was start scheduling me for 2 appointments at a time. That way we could keep the interval lower. It worked really well. Sometimes it is hard to plan that far in advance and one of us had to cancel, but in general, it worked, and was much less frustrating.

I know how hard it is to ask for what we need... I would hate to see you stuck with having to see your T only every 5 weeks, but unless you ask to schedule 2 sessions, you won't get it. It is interesting to me that you would rather start with a completely new therapist rather than ask this one a question. I think this shows you have a lot of work to do with this therapist that could really help you! If you like this T, please don't give him up because you feel you can't ask the question. Find a way. Maybe write it on a piece of paper and hand it to him. Or email it. Worth a try? You know, the worst he can say is no, and I'm sure he would do it gently if his office policy won't allow him to schedule 2 sessions in advance. If he says no, you will be no worse off with your appointments than now, and you will have communicated your needs to your T, which can help him help you.sorry this is so hard. Good luck.