I spoke with the new female therapist yesterday and made an appt for this week with her, just the two of us 1:1. She said she can also be our couples therapist, and that she would be an impartial, neutral 3rd party. I explained what was happening in our current couples therapy sessions, and how I feel unsupported and invalidated. She was very supportive, and I immediately felt comfortable speaking with her.

Now I just have to get up the nerve to tell my therapist I am not coming back to him and that we are changing our couples therapist. We're supposed to have a couples session next Tue with him. I want to cancel that appt. I am not convinced yet that this female therapist is right for us, but I liked what she had to say on the phone with me yesterday and she's dealt with domestic abuse. I don't even think our current therapist has experience with abusive relationships, despite what his profile said on the website, Psychology Today. It sure doesn't seem like he does, given that he sides with my husband and invalidates me, the victim of the abuse.

I am angry right now over all of this. It's been almost one year of therapy with this therapist, and I don't feel that we've gotten anywhere, although I must say that my husband has curbed the behaviors that I point out to him along the way. I think he does this all on his own, without help from the therapist.

I wonder what they even talk about in his individual sessions. They chit chat often in our couples sessions, so I imagine that there's a lot of that going on in my husband's individual sessions. I am not going to force him to switch therapists for his individual therapy, though. He's comfortable with this guy and he likes him, and that's half the battle. And he's willing to still go see him, despite not wanting to and despite feeling like he doesn't need to have therapy these days. I encourage him to continue going, however, and he does, begrudgingly. At least that's how he's been lately over therapy.

My 1:1 session is on Friday with the female therapist. I am going to talk about all of this and hopefully, will receive some sound advice on how to proceed.