I'm sorry you have to go through this. I lost a therapist really suddenly 10 years ago when she moved to another country. I thought it would be the end of the world; I liked and trusted her so much and we had a good relationship. It turned out that her leaving was the best thing that could have happened to me in terms of treatment.

The first session with the new therapist (which was done just before she left so she did talk to him about me) was mostly just talking a little about my history of therapy, what I wanted, what I wanted to be off-limits (I refused to talk to him about abuse for a while), how he felt he could help me and a little about how he operated as a therapist, etc.

The 2nd time I met him was 2 days after saying good-bye to the old therapist and so we pretty much leaped into my having a hard time which turned into a huge episode. He didn't see it as quickly as he would have today but eventually he not only figured out the episode and the triggers but he was the one who noticed that I was walking unsteadily and brought up lithium toxicity to my pdoc which I most definitely had.

I have a rather long history of trying therapists, not feeling right early on and quitting. I've only stuck it out with 3 therapists (including this one) and have seen a lot more than that. I always had a reason to leave but maybe not the best reason. So this time I asked a friend to hold me accountable for giving it a good try for 3 months (although I think there was a clause where if he agreed it was completely weird I could quit sooner). By 3 months we were deeply involved in treatment.

I did have to adjust to this therapist being more sensitive about suicidal thoughts and more willing to hospitalize. Early on he would have had me IP several times but my pdoc said I'd be ok (I'd seen her for 3 years by then so she knew and trusted me). One of those times we had quite an argument which was actually a turning point for me; I knew I really trusted him if I could argue with him and still go back. And ultimately I never was hospitalized because eventually he came to trust both me and later his ability to read me pretty well so that he pretty much always knows when it is on my mind anyway. And now I tell him most times and if he thinks there is the slightest chance he asks. Just remember that they can't make you do anything unless you are a risk to yourself or others. You can have suicidal thoughts and not require hospitalization (good thing or I'd have been living in the hospital the last 9 months or more). And you'll develop mutual trust in that area that will open communication and keep both of you from over/under reacting.

I was surprised how fast I trusted him and how quickly I realized that my prior therapist was nice to talk to but this man was going to get me better. I work hard with him while with her I spent a great deal of time talking about cats. She didn't know that much about bipolar and he did/does. He also just has the right personal style to be effective for me; he is absolutely not afraid to push me which I don't think she'd ever have done.

I don't know how to choose except to say meet with a few and feel them out. I was scheduled to meet someone else the same week I met my therapist but cancelled because I knew he was the right person after I met him. Now she is the back-up for me so if he's out for some reason she always has some idea what is going on with me and can take an emergency session on. I like her but he's still better with me.

Honestly I don't know how to find someone outside the one agency. I've been in the same place 14 years and am their longest term client. When I started there I called, answered some questions and they assigned me to the woman I saw first.

I do know that if you see someone and you don't feel comfortable or that it is a good match that you definitely can just tell them that you feel like you'd like to meet with someone else before deciding for sure who you want to work with. This looks like good coping skills, so bonus for you. I did this several times in grad school but never did land with anyone competent so I quit and had a really hard time going back when I needed to 14 years ago (I needed to go 15 years ago but it took a year to get ready).

I hope you have a fast and smooth transition.