I also think it's good that the new T didn't bash old T. When I was recently thinking of leaving Dr. T to see a different T, I had a free consultation with a potential new T. She was very critical of him, which in the moment felt helpful to me. But I then realized that it would have been difficult to process the Dr. T relationship with her when she was saying things like "He shouldn't even be a therapist."

I ended up deciding to stay with Dr. T, so it doesn't matter now. But if/when I leave in the future, I think I'd need a more nuanced T, as it's a complicated relationship, with both good and bad, and I'd want it to be processed that way. Rather than, "He sucks, what was going on with you that you stayed that long?" Really, I could see that being an issue with discussing any relationship with her. As much as it can feel validating for someone to say something like, "Yeah, your therapist/mother/ex-partner sucked!" I'm not sure it helps in the long run to be so black and white.