[ImNotHere]

I have a therapist I have been seeing for 5 months. I feel like I haven't accomplished anything with her but I am not sure if I am ready to just leave her and start over. Would it be bad to get a second therapist? How would my first therapist feel? is this normal/has anyone done this?

[Mactastic]

I don't recommend 2 therapists but I do recommend trying someone else once or twice to see how you feel. I consulted once and told my current T about my experience. He wasn't mad at all. Seeing someone else helped me decide to stick things out. It helped clear my mind.

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[HazelGirl]

Can you talk to your T about this?

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by ImNotHere

I have a therapist I have been seeing for 5 months. I feel like I haven't accomplished anything with her but I am not sure if I am ready to just leave her and start over. Would it be bad to get a second therapist? How would my first therapist feel? is this normal/has anyone done this?

in some situations yes it is ok to have two therapists...example here in NY we have crisis centers that have therapists we have domestic violence therapists, we have mental health therapists...I know many people who have both a mental health therapist to help them with their mental issues and a domestic violence therapist to help them with their domestic violence issues, people who have both their mental health therapist and their rape crisis therapist. I even know people in mental health programs where they have a team of more than one, sometimes as many as three and 4 therapist working with them.

I have many different types of treatment providers because I have many different mental and physical and life issues. we all work together for whats in the best interest...example once a month my MS therapist, mental heath therapist, a back up mental health therapist that covers when my regular therapist is unavailable, medical doctor, neurologist, physical therapist, psychiatrist, my wife and I have a meeting where we discuss me, what my problems are and what my needs are and what to do about my many physical and mental health challenges. when my mental health therapist worked with an agency instead of private practice there were three more mental health therapists at the meeting with us.

the key to having more than one treatment provider is to have all treatment providers working together, by signing a release form giving each of the therapists permission to meet with each other with and with out you to talk about the case file and you and whats in your best interest. that way everyone is working on the same page and not counteracting each others treatment of you.

[Rzay4]

I used to have three Ts and that was a big issue, so I had to choose one. I now have another new T and the other is my group T. It's not recommended.

[Elektra_]

hi. as i told u before.. u can try this new one and see if u like them better but then leave the other one. i dont advise u having 2. they have different approaches to things or perceptions so it can be confusing or even unproductive. tc

[UnderRugSwept]

ImNotHere,

I think it totally depends on the situation...I see two Ts, one psychodynamic and one CBT. It works out fine for me. My two therapists know about each other and don't have any issues with it. I have read of at least a few other people on here who have two Ts as well. But then in these cases, as best as I can tell (and mine), we aren't looking to "replace" a therapist with another. I know I find my therapy is better with the expertise of both of my Ts.

So if you don't feel like your therapy is working for you, have you tried talking to her about what you feel like would be more helpful to you?

[(JD)]

No you can't have more than one therapist trying to work with you at a time, unless they are working together with you if you want to keep what mental health you have IMO

Yes, you can consult with another to see if you click better...but the best thing is to discuss your feelings of lack of progress with your current Therapist. Why not? You've hired them to help you. It could be that you are resisting working in therapy and can't go very fast??? A different T won't help that. Therapy is work, I can't imagine trying to work in two different directions at the same time (as would happen with 2 Ts)

be well.

[SheHulk07]

I currently have 2 therapists that ar e aware of each other and understand that I'm not trying to replace each other. We're both working on the same things, but it helps me because I'm able to see someone more than once a week, which is what I need right now.

[stopdog]

I see two separate psychodynamic therapists at the same time and have done so for over 3 years. They know that I see other therapists but do not interact nor do I speak to one about the other. It works much better for me than just seeing one. I am not pulled in different directions, they are not played against each other, I am not confused by their differences, I do not go to either for advice so there is no conflict there, and the world has not collapsed because I see them both. Each is better at some things than the other. The only drawback I have experienced in seeing two is the financial expense.

It is also quite possible and usual to try out other therapists while seeing the first one or taking a break from the first one to try out some others.

[photostotake]

I have two Ts also. They both are aware of each other and can be in contact with each other if needed. One is for personal issues and one is for my eating disorder. I see each of them once a week and have been doing it this way for the past 9 months. So far, it's working out quite well for me.

[MoxieDoxie]

I have two therapists. One who goes above and beyond to help me and the other just cares about me in the therapy room and does not want to hear from me between sessions unless I pay him.

[RFS711]

I have two therapists and I open up to one and not the other. My first therapist recommended I see a second therapist. I had to see this second therapist because I took a leave of absence from school. I'm not sure if I'd recommend it, I don't like having two therapists because I don't gel with the second one. I would bring it up with your therapist though, their feelings won't get hurt as long as you ask politely. Good luck!

[Miswimmy1]

Originally Posted by ImNotHere

I have a therapist I have been seeing for 5 months. I feel like I haven't accomplished anything with her but I am not sure if I am ready to just leave her and start over. Would it be bad to get a second therapist? How would my first therapist feel? is this normal/has anyone done this?

I've been in this position trying to figure out what to do and whether two therapists was a good idea. It seemed like a perfect solution to me at the time, but as I began to experiment with it, it quickly became not such a good idea. I don't recommend it unless the therapists are working with you and two entirely different issues (and there aren't very many issues that are entirely separate). The reason for this is that when you have more than one professional managing your care, it creates so much possibility for miscommunication to happen. By having two therapists, you create this triangle with you in the middle. The therapists may not necessarily communicate with each other, they may give you contradicting advice (every therapist has a different approach to treatment), etc. It just makes things complicated. In addition, I have been told that many therapists won't treat a patient that is seeing another therapist at the same time for the very reasons i just mentioned.

If you feel like the therapist you are currently seeing is not helping you sufficiently, it will not hurt their feelings for you to explain that you want to try someone else. If you can be specific about why it wasn't working, they will most likely welcome the advice on how to improve their practice. It also may be that you were just not a good fit for each other. Therapists understand that as well. My old t used to tell me that being a therapist was a strange professional because your goal is to try to put yourself out of business- it's so true. They constantly have patients coming and going. It's part of the profession. I don't think you should take your therapist's personal feelings into account why trying to decide whether the therapy you are doing is beneficial to you. Best of luck!

[IndestructibleGirl]

I think it really depends on the individual therapists in question. Some here seem cool with it. Mine doesn't do dual therapy with clients seeing other therapists, however, and I have seen that response from other Ts here in the UK too.

[stopdog]

If either one I see had objected to the notion, I simply would have not told them. I was not getting their permission to see other therapists and would never think it their place to give it.
I see more than one chiropractor, acupuncturist, massage therapist, and so forth. I do not believe in getting caught up in just one of any sort of health care. The few times I need bones set or antibiotics, I see the urgent care people - so never the same md either.

[growlycat]

I see a psychodynamic T and a cbt T. Working on separate issues w/both but sometimes there is topic overlap.

They know about each other and have spoken to each other to coordinate care. CBT has better coverage under my insurance , main t less so. Despite the expense, I like this set-up.

[AllyIsHopeful]

Originally Posted by ImNotHere

I have a therapist I have been seeing for 5 months. I feel like I haven't accomplished anything with her but I am not sure if I am ready to just leave her and start over. Would it be bad to get a second therapist? How would my first therapist feel? is this normal/has anyone done this?

I'm considering doing this and had the same concerns. I talked to my therapist about it. She said it was completely okay. I'm sure your T will tell you whether or not they have a problem with it. Just be prepared to possibly have a reason as to why the second T is necessary, because he/she may ask. It is one thing to leave them because they aren't helping, but they may want to know why a second T is needed. My reason was wanting to seek a different delivery of therapy. I also really want to see a Psychologist, as my current therapist is a MMFT.
Is there a reason you don't want to just leave your current T and find a new one? Would you rather try two therapists at once? Personally I want to "test the waters" with a new person because I can't imagine trusting or liking anyone else. If I connect with them and I find them to be helping me, I am opening to leaving my current therapist.

[pinkbutterfly]

I saw two Ts at one point.

When I first moved to the city I am currently living in (Jan 2013), I didn't have insurance so I went to a free counseling center through a church. I was seeing an graduate student intern. WE totally clicked...and I felt so safe and comfortable talking to her and opening up to her. However, I felt like my issues were too big...PTSD, MDD, GAD, EDNOS...

In March 2013, I found out that I had insurance...so I started looking for T's that had more experience that took my insurance. My goal was to transition to someone who had experience with sexual trauma and PTSD.

It took me about 4 months before I found out what my copay was going to be. So that puts me into June/July...so I had been seeing T for 6-7 months and had a wonderful bond/trust with her. But I knew she was leaving in December because she was graduating. I didn't want to leave her.

So I had been seeing L for 3-4 months. I was building a good therapeutic relationship with her. And I knew she was better qualified. And I knew I would need someone else starting in 2014.

I was afraid to tell one about the other. Especially because I knew someone who had seen L before and when she heard she had another counselor and L got really upset with her -- even though it was a marriage counselor, not an individual. So...I was afraid to let her know.

Sometimes I forgot who I had said what to, so I was like, "I can't remember if I told you this...but..."

It was hard. I would have preferred seeing just one, but at the same time it was good bc I had two appointments a week...sometimes three. L only VERY rarely will do two appts a week.

[Perna]

I think you should talk it over with the therapist, your lack of feeling like you have made progress and think about what you would like to "do" with a second therapist. Stopdog successfully uses two therapists but if you are worrying about what they will think and how you will feel, etc. it might be too much of a hassle for you at this time? Just hanging on to a therapist because you don't want to make the leap to another is probably not a good position to be working from? Either work hard to make whatever you want work with this one or try another or another type therapy, etc. is what I would recommend.

I employed two T's once, while my "main" was on an extended leave and made sure the second therapist was helping me with a project that I was not working on with my first, etc. but when my first came back, I told her what I had been doing/working on and she asked me to get rid of the second and I did. It all boils down to what you want and how comfortable you are working with one, two, more at once. It's your therapy.

[BPD Ghost]

One thing to note is that although you may be close to your therapist, he/she is still a service provider. You don't have to keep everybody you hire for a job. He/she knows that. Also she should want the best for you if she's a god one.

[ImNotHere]

I want to thank everyone for the advice and for the responses. I think I am going to speak to my current therapist about my progress and if nothing changes in the next few weeks I am going to find a new therapist.