I have liked my therapist and have seen her for the last nine months, but recently I have begun to think about finding a new therapist. Are these good reasons for switching therapists?

1. My current therapist is slow about answering emails or phone calls. A couple times, I needed to change therapy session dates, and she needs to get multiple emails and phone calls to return my messages for a new appointment date. Her slowness signals to me that she is "phoning it in" as a therapist and she doesn't really care too much about the job or her patients. What if I was in dire straits and it was an emergency, but she didn't respond for four days to my urgent emails and phone calls?

2. She can be judgmental about certain things. She is of the view that public schools are typically better than private schools, but I was raised going to very good private schools, and I currently teach at a private school. So her slams against private schools feel like personal attacks. Plus, she thinks I should eat "healthy" foods, then I'll be the right weight. But that type of hopefulness doesn't fit the reality of my slow aging metabolism. I have to really really diet to lose any pounds, and she doesn't seem to favor my losing weight if I have to actually work hard and diet hard to achieve this. I feel like I'm all alone on my dieting struggles without her support.

3. She is usually pretty embracing of unconventional viewpoints, but for some reason she seems to have thought that my older age means I have no hope. At least, that seems to be the case. She tiptoed for the last nine months about asking me my age, but she finally blurted out the question a couple sessions ago. I told her my real adult age (midlife), and her reaction seemed to be like I was a lost cause. I'm not that old, and even if I was really old, I don't think I should be seen as a lost cause. Those attitudes are ageist.

Do these seem like valid reasons to find a new therapist? My main concern is that I am bound to my insurance plan, and in my area there are not too many psychologists on average insurance plans like mine, since they can earn more by charging out of network prices. There is a lot of competition for the in-network psychologists, so I don't know how easily I can replace this woman.

Thoughts on my reactions?