I would assume there are therapists who don't like to work with certain clients with a variety of different issues; I don't think suicidality would be the only thing some would reject, but I know that's the issue you are asking about.

Personally I've never run into that, thank goodness, but just from what I've read right here on PC, it is quite clear that some therapists are better skilled at handling serious mental illness and personaility disorders, etc. that have suicidality as part of the problem.

In someone else's post the other day I made a comment along this lines. I really think there is a set of therapists out there who really do not have the skill or desire to work with serious mental illness because when their clients are in a crisis, that is when they seem to freak out, threaten termination, actually terminate, and/or more or less just completely lose all scruples as a therapist. It is almost like they got into therapy with the mindset that they'd sit in a room with their clients, talk about things once a week for a period of time, and all would be well when their time together is over. I don't know if it is a naivete of thinking they will just be good listeners and "help" people in their lives, or just really poor training, but they are very potentially damaging when they run into clients that are "over their heads," their comfort zone, and their skill level.

I've known I was dealing with serious mental illness for many years, so I went into looking for a therapist knowing I needed someone with a broad skill level and LOTS of experience. I've never dealt with a therapist who couldn't deal with my serious issues, but I did reject a few over the years that just gave me that vibe pretty early on: therapists that felt to me that they were sort of naive, "save the world" kind of people who right away seemed uncomfortable just to encounter a client with my level of depression and trauma. I suspect they would have done more harm than good for me and I was quick to pick up on that.

My current T is by far the most broadly experienced, skilled, and able to work with my suicidality. His clinical training gave him a broad base of therapeutic techniques to pull from: he's not limited to only one skill base to work with. He comes from a variety of professional settings including having worked in a psych hospital and in assessment: he doesn't shy from serious mental illness and has deep understanding of various diagnoses. He has a strong background in psychopharmacology which is an added bonus for someone like me who because of my particular diagnosis has had to be treated with medications: he's been able to help me distinguish when problems I was having required medication adjustment, were perhaps side effects or withdrawal effects, etc. or were perhaps medically/physically based and I needed to consult my pdoc or other physician.

I do think those of us dealing with serious mental illness have to be cognizant that we find therapists with solid experience and training. I think it is important, as hard as it is to tell a stranger these things, that we are up front right away if we have a history of suicidality and ask some tough questions (if they don't come right out and tell us which is exactly what my therapist did for me which is one reason I knew he'd work) about how they work with clients with such problems. They should know how to answer those questions and be comfortable doing so. I would absolutely never work with a therapist in training, or even in the early years of practice. I don't need them to be still in the early years of figuring things out and making early errors on me. Experience isn't the only factor obviously, nor is it a guarantee, but it is one factor on my list of requirements.