I just told my therapist in our first session that I had a lot of abuse history but that I did not want to talk about it. That's all I said but he knew I was serious about it and never brought it up until I did. 11 years later and he has heard minute details that I no longer need to think about because we made it through some really intense, really helpful trauma therapy.

I've had quite a few therapists and nearly all have been kind, caring and had my best interests at heart. A few have been truly incredible, including the current one who I will probably see until he retires.

One thing that helped me was that I knew I was really scared and had a history of running from therapy when I was afraid so I asked a friend to hold me accountable to sticking it out 3 months when I started with this one. It only took a few weeks before I felt good with him but knowing I needed to spend some time with him and give him a chance instead of freaking out that he was perfect immediately was good for me.