What was you 1st impression of T.

My new T I thought I will be able to work well with her as she seems kind.
After 5 sessions we have clicked at times and sometimes she seems cold and we have even laughed, She knows her stuff though, I am yet to still figure her out fully.

My ExT, She was caring and if ever I was in a crisis she would always check on me and call my doctor and write to him, I really miss her.

I dont remember hardly anything about the first 8mos. I wish I could though...I think im going to ask her what we talked about.

I thought she was strict and cold.
And that impression never completely left me.

I saw mine on TV and I really liked him both what he said and how he looked (nonthreatening with kind and warm eyes).
Looked him up on net, read his stuff, called him and went to the first session which I don't remember much cause I was so stressed out.

My first thought after the first mtg was "This man will either help me heal or will kill me." I knew for a fact he was my very last hope. I was that bad off by the time I got to him. I knew if he messed up, it would be over for me. And I wasn't sure he could do what I knew had to be done... because I didn't know if ANYONE could do it. So I left the session and watched him walk into the break area where he was... and decided I would trust him.

I read a story I had written about me and her face was so expressive, like she really cared and reacted to what I wrote. She also seemed genuine, somewhat informal, and just plain "nice."

After 3 years, I'm happy to say that my first impressions were accurate.

I'm not aware of projecting anything onto her. She is very different from old T.

She is easy to talk to, has a nice manner but just seems.... i dunno less open than last T maybe, less invested. But i've only seen her twice so i suppose i can't expect her to be invested at this stage.

This sucks. The therapist is supposed to be the expert of therapeutic relationships, not the patient.

I would be tempted to say, "Well, you're not trying hard enough."

Or more constructively, "I'm doing my best. Could you try another way?"

Wow! I finally found someone who knows what he's talking about! Plus, he referred me onto his mentor (a nationally known neuropsych who is just as sweet) for sleep issues when he realized he couldn't help me in the first session. He actually admitted it unlike the 2 doctors I worked with for years before him. The neuropsych figured it out and now I continue to work with my T. Plus, he's a bit of a smarta$$ and I kinda like it. We just click.

The first T I ever saw was too dry and wishy-washy for me. I knew that within the first ten minutes of the first appt. I only saw her for three appts a few years ago.

Just curious why you stayed?

She seems very very quiet, hard to hear, meek, nice, passive but not always, possibly a little depressed, slightly anxious, extremely attentive. Color coordinated, artistic, looks like she puts effort into her appearance, striking in the most beautiful way that those of us not born to be what's really considered beautiful can be.

I was upset and trying to explain why I was there and instead of getting into a circular discussion on feelings like all the other T's. Things that went like
otherT: How do feel?
me: I don't know.
otherT: You must know how you feel.
me: I just don't know how I feel.
otherT: Why did you come here?
me: There's something wrong
otherT: What is wrong?
me: I don't know.
otherT: well, how do feel?....

He just changed direction and I thought this guy knows what he's doing. Sometimes he misses but I feel confident now that I can challenge him on this.

Plus he had a ponytail and a beard a big plus for me. All other T's were women.

Nerd, handsome, competent, skilled, kind, maybe a little lonely, relaxed, easy to get along with. I felt a connection right away.

I got very defensive in my first session - thought it would be "easy" since it was my first time and all - ha! Boy was I wrong! T came to work, and as a result I figuratively wanted to come out swinging! I was NOT prepared for that! Hasn't happened to that degree really at all since...

Secure and comfortable with himself. Open. Facilitating. Strong. Nothing to prove. Kind. Nurturing. Well spoken. Accomplished. Professional. Attractive. And I loved his voice.

I am kind of amazed at the things other people remember or attribute to the therapist. I was doing good to remember the things about the dog. The therapist did not really register with me at all.

I think the impressions I do remember stand out more boldly because so much else of the experience was dissipated through dissociation.

It's difficult to remember why I stayed!

But there is no doubt that she helped me a great deal. I will always remember her as the woman who saved my life.

I first met my now xT while I was an inpatient. He ran some of the group therapy classes and was also one of the Ts who spoke to us one on one several times a week outside of group therapy times. (The private mental health system here is great: we had 3 group therapy sessions per day, spoke to our Pdocs 6 times/week and had Psych Nurses assigned to several of us at a time each shift.)

Right from the start I felt a connection with him. He made his classes interesting, explained new concepts clearly, had a good sense of humor, was easy to talk to and was very approachable.

Both as a group and individual therapist, he possessed all of the qualities that you (well, that I, anyway) would hope for.

For most of the 4 years that I saw him on an individual basis, after I was discharged, these qualities remained pretty consistent.

My current T - that he was kind and trustworthy and brilliant. Six months later, I still feel that way.

He felt healthy but a little bit nervous. He also seemed to do a great job at "getting" me and repeating back what he heard & explaining why it made sense to him.

He doesn't feel nervous anymore and he is absolutely FANTASTIC at getting me and validating the way I feel. My first impression was definitely on track. Of course, with as hypervigilent as I am, this really is not a surprise.

First impression was oh $hit, this one is going to challenge me! ( in a good way)

That she might be a little crazybecause she was so kind to us, that she might be a little weird, that she was definitely very different from anyone we had ever met, that she definitely knew what she was doing, and she was going to be able to handle us, probably. It was very weird.