Hello EG: Glad you finally decided to dive into the pond! Welcome to PsychCentral! I hope you find the time you spend here to be of benefit.

I guess I can't really speak to your question directly. I saw a few therapists for brief periods over the years. But it never amounted to anything. What occurred to me as I read your post, though, was something I recall reading with regard to the late Buddhist meditation teacher Chogyam Trungpa. He supposedly said that the purpose of a spiritual teacher is to irritate you! Perhaps there is a sense in which a skilled therapist might at times need to do the same?

Here are links to some articles, from PsychCentral's archives, the first by our host Dr. John Grohol, Psy.D., on this topic:

https://psychcentral.com/lib/what-if...our-therapist/

https://psychcentral.com/lib/what-to...our-therapist/

https://psychcentral.com/ask-the-the...or-it-to-work/

https://psychcentral.com/lib/frustra...talk-about-it/