Hey PaulaS...

Something else. I didn't think I was going to stick with this T. I didn't think he was going to be a good match. I kept wanting to quit.

I had a turning point, somewhere around session #7 (!). Yes - that's a crazy long time for me to keep going, but I just wasn't sure, and kept getting signs from the universe.

Session 6 had been really bad. I came here and posted about it. You can read my post here: http://forums.psychcentral.com/psych...y-t-today.html

There were so many red flags and things just seemed awful to me, I really thought that, seriously, there was NO WAY this guy was going to be helpful. That session that I wrote about just left me feeling like it was completely over.

You know what, I went back... and I brought that post with me! (Ha! And now re-reading it, I'm thinking - oh wow! I mean, it was great - because I got to see how he reacted when I basically listed out all the reasons he was terrible, but I can't believe I managed to give it to him!)

I didn't even SAY much, because I did NOT want to be there. I wanted to hand him the check, tell him I was quitting, and just walk out. But, I didn't - I handed him that post instead.

And, you know what? He read it very carefully, replied to the various issues I had raised very calmly, and did not get angry or defensive *at* *all*. To me, that's something I really need, and I think is kind of awesome. That ability to let me be mad at him, to criticize him, to present him a list of grievances (!), and for him to thoughtfully consider them all, and do what he can to fix them.

I really think that was a turning point for me.

I don't know if that helps, or is meaningful... especially since I'm still working things through with him and figuring it out (i.e. I can't give you a happy ending to my story yet!). But, maybe it's helpful to know that even though this T was SO FAR from perfect in the first several sessions, he's been able to adapt and get better (once I told him what things he was doing that I didn't like.)

Good luck