I'm going through this right now. T1 is gone for 4+ months (halfway done, yay!), and left when I was at the height of transference and doing really deep work. We both knew, with my history, I would need support while she was gone. T2 was her close colleague and friend at the clinic, and they offered a joint session to make the transition, but I declined thinking that felt like overkill. But they did talk a bit, with my permission. Not extensively, though, as T2 wanted to form her own relationship with me without a lot of prejudicial information.

T2 is very different in personality and style, but her basic philosophy is the same. I think that's important. But we chose to take a different approach, since there was no way I would form the same kind of attachment to her as I have with T1. We're working on something that is more behavioral and practical, requires more talking and cognitive work. She was also very helpful in working through the pain and abandonment stuff of losing T1 at such a critical time, and kept me from spiraling down into deep depression. We're also keeping my "therapy muscles" in shape and working.

My biggest concern at this point is: will I be able to click into the same deep attachment with T1 when she returns? She is still very "real" to me, but the feelings feel less accessible, and it's easy to get caught up in my "what if" fantasies and fears. We shall see.