I just searched Google for classes in my area. It was a bit of work as some required me to see their therapist and many had waiting lists. I found one that was taught by a psychiatric nurse who was certified in DBT. She also did supervisory DBT classes for therapists. She was great and I learned so much from her.

"So you said your therapist irritates the crap out of you quite a bit. How does one distinguish between feeling frequently irritated with their therapist and recognizing a therapist who is not effective?"

I also have a T that annoys the crap out of me and he knows he does to an extent. I have to censor my true feelings for the sake of keeping him as my T. The main reason he aggravates me most of the time has to do with his need to keep me moving forward and making progress. His philosophy is that it is not ethical to just let someone come in and gripe about life every session, one must always be making progress. He also works with a lot of BPD clients so his boundaries are pretty solid. When I am having a super tough day, I am allowed to vent as long as I use my feeling words and tell him what I want help with regarding the situation. We always have to be working on something, either DBT, CBT or EMDR. Sometimes it is a huge pain in the rear and his constant questions of where do I feel that in my body, or asking me to sit my my feelings in session when I am having a bad day.

I know he means well and wants the best for me but I also get annoyed too. I did see a different T for a few months when mine had to quit for an unknown length of time due to a sudden illness. I have to admit, I didn't like the other guy and didn't see myself making much progress with him. I had plans to look for someone else when I noticed my T was back online again. So we are back together again. I do get really excited when we have to miss a session or two. It is nice to take a break from the hard work.