[Stronger]

Counting the one you have now.
It happens. Sometimes you have to change a T for whatever reason.

I just had to change mine (Left for school) and I'm feeling kind of bad about having had 5 Ts already. I'm not gunna be able to count them on one hand anymore!

[HazelGirl]

Just two. One was through my insurance, would only see me once a month, and decided she couldn't help after she determined my problem was that I had messed up core beliefs about myself. She made me feel like my problems were a waste of her time and that therapy (after three session!) was making them worse.

The second one is my current T whom I adore.

[Blue_Bird]

3. The first one when I was around 14/15. Got to the point where we both felt like I didn't need therapy anymore. Second one around the time I turned 19, but she eventually moved, I really miss her. Then the third one which is my current T. This isn't including temporary therapists assigned to me all the times I've been hospitalized.

[hiddencreations]

T1 - she was a social worker who asked questions about everybody in my family, but nothing about me. (She lasted 2 sessions before I refused to return)
T2 - I absolutely adore her. She understands me and she is sarcastic. (1.5 years)
T3 - I was forced to switch to a T closer to where I lived and she saw me at school. Each session was only 15 minutes max, so nothing was really achieved. Ended when I graduated from high school. (6 months)
T4 - I saw her when I started college and the college mandated me to be in therapy. She didn't understand why I was there as I didn't have any concerns or present issues. (1 month)
T5 - she worked in my ex-psychiatrist office. She focused improving social skills and kept reminding to make eye contact. I left her after she was rather unsympathetic when my dog died less than 1 hour before. She said dogs are replaceable, it's not like I lost a child. (2 sessions)

I'm now back to T2 and she's been seeing me for 3 years + 1.5 before the forced switch.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ThisWayOut]

I've been in t for about 17 years and had about 16 or 17 t's. I few I did not see for more than the sessions, but a good 14 or so we're students whom I saw for less than a year each because of their rotations. I don't expect to see current t for long because I am supposed to move across country "soon" (which is turning open - ended since we can't get our act together and save anything at all for the move). After the move though, I plan on returning to a former therapist if she still had availability so it won't really be a new one. Imiss working with one person for longer. The starting all over again really hampers progress in my opinion...

[Leah123]

http://forums.psychcentral.com/psych...herapists.html

http://forums.psychcentral.com/psych...ight*-one.html

[MusicLover79]

The first was unethical and terrible. The serving was good until just recently and the one I see now that is awesome third times a charm?

[ScarletPimpernel]

T1: age 13
T2: age 13; after inpatient hospitalization. Quit because she tried to hospitalize me when I was doing okay.
T3: age 14; My parents made me quit.
T4: age 18; saw twice; pushed trauma issues and I had to be hospitalized.
T5: age 18; saw for 4 yrs; absolutely loved her, but her job got transferred.
T6: age 21; college intern; didn't have enough knowledge/experience to deal with me.
T7: age 22; saw for 2 yrs; Martha Stewart's "twin"; only talked about herself or my sex life.
T8: age 32; Current T; been with for a yr.

[tealBumblebee]

Just two. One was when I was an adolescent, and ended because my mother decided she didn't want to pay for it anymore & the one I have had now for just over a year. :]

[JustShakey]

Three, but I only feel like I did 'therapy' with two. The first was a trainee I saw for a few months through the clinic that did my ADHD eval. She was super nice but I've never been more bored in my life. I think she was just waaay out of her depth.
T2. Um. Yeah. That... Horrible negative maternal transference and painful insecure attachment... I wanted to keep seeing her so badly but I think it was best she refused, even though it hurt like hell and I kinda hate her for it.
And then there's T, who I'm doing good with.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Depletion]

T1 I had as an adolescent, and started seen her after my dad found out out I felt sucidial.
T2 and T3 I had in college they were helpful especially T3, but the therapy was too short term.
T4 I saw after SA, but it didn't last long because I opened up about some more kinky parts of my life that I was struggling to reconcile with SA she started balling and said she couldn't see me anymore. And that was traumatic and the end of that.
T5 was ok, we fought a lot but she tried to help, but I never felt connected to her. She retired, and I moved on after about a year.
T6 I saw for several months but she was a T in training, and it seemed like she had no clue how to help me. I terminated with her after therapy seemed to be at an impasse.
T7. Was terrible. She talked about herself too much, and assumed that she understood my disability because her kids have ADHD. But then she refused to make any accommodations for my disability in session.
T8 Seemed wonderful at first and eventually I thought that I was going to be able to trust her. She seemed very empathetic, and I felt close to her--so close that I developed erotic transference. I eventually told her about the transference and she had a major freak out during which she verbally abused me. I terminated therapy the next day.
T9 is the one I see now. I feel tentative about the relationship given all that has happened. I'm trying to trust her, but things are moving slowly, and I fear danger at every turn. If things don't work out with current T I'm not sure that I will return to therapy for some time.

[HazelGirl]

Originally Posted by Depletion

T1 I had as an adolescent, and started seen her after my dad found out out I felt sucidial.
T2 and T3 I had in college they were helpful especially T3, but the therapy was too short term.
T4 I saw after SA, but it didn't last long because I opened up about some more kinky parts of my life that I was struggling to reconcile with SA she started balling and said she couldn't see me anymore. And that was traumatic and the end of that.
T5 was ok, we fought a lot but she tried to help, but I never felt connected to her. She retired, and I moved on after about a year.
T6 I saw for several months but she was a T in training, and it seemed like she had no clue how to help me. I terminated with her after therapy seemed to be at an impasse.
T7. Was terrible. She talked about herself too much, and assumed that she understood my disability because her kids have ADHD. But then she refused to make any accommodations for my disability in session.
T8 Seemed wonderful at first and eventually I thought that I was going to be able to trust her. She seemed very empathetic, and I felt close to her--so close that I developed erotic transference. I eventually told her about the transference and she had a major freak out during which she verbally abused me. I terminated therapy the next day.
T9 is the one I see now. I feel tentative about the relationship given all that has happened. I'm trying to trust her, but things are moving slowly, and I fear danger at every turn. If things don't work out with current T I'm not sure that I will return to therapy for some time.

You've had some bad luck with T's! Especially T 4 and 8! Eek!

[Depletion]

Originally Posted by HazelGirl

You've had some bad luck with T's! Especially T 4 and 8! Eek!

Still recoving from the truama those guys inflicted...Its terrible

Three. One in my late 20s, paid partly by my job; I left after about five months because I changed workplace and told her I couldn't afford to see her, which may have been true but the actual reason was that I was afraid she'd start asking about things I was not prepared to talk about. There was no real connection there in any case. The second one was three years ago, and I stopped seeing her after eight months because I didn't see the point - she was a good therapist but she did not understand where I was coming from, at all. And I had joined this forum and found out what therapy could be like, so I didn't want to keep paying for something that really wasn't working. The third, and current, is the psychiatrist my second T recommended to me when I needed to discuss my medication. Best thing that T did for me.

[BonnieJean]

Just the one

[iheartjacques]

I've had quite a few. Don't really want to sit down and think about that! Just grateful for the two good ones out of all of them.

[bounceback]

I've had 7 therapists

First one 2 years awesome therapist but was numb the whole time, really made me feel cared about.
Second one 2 years. She had a lot of her own issues and was kind of wacko.
Third one 1 year then she dumped me because I was too angry.
Forth one was supposedly my therapist but I never saw her except for in group, which I ended up kicked out of.
Fifth one 1 year.
Sixth one the same as the third. She took me back after I had mellowed out a lot. I had her for about 3 years. I became one of her favorite patients.
Seventh one the best one of all. 5 years. Really helped me get through the emotional stuff and could finally feel with her, really loved her.
Eighth one almost 7 years. Struggled a lot with our relationship in the beginning, sometimes still struggle. I have shared more with her than any other. She has been there through the deaths of both my parents, my uncle, my cat, my brother-in-law, my sister's cancer.

[archipelago]

I only counted the ones that I really did therapy with and it is really 2 1/2 because the one in between the first and the third was a transitional figure; they are all colleagues who cover for each other and are in the same reading group. All are psychiatrists but my interest in them is that they are analysts.

I think the other question to ask that might be more telling is how long have you been in therapy. In my case, I have been in therapy long term, though I didn't start early in life. I find this type of therapy at times more exploratory than actually treatment so I see myself doing it for a while because I enjoy the process. There are times when something comes up and I really need help, but that is not as frequent as it used to be.

I put 1 though I had am initial session with another T before I found current T.
We were in a tiny room with a heater on full blast, white walls and no other furniture except 2 chairs.
He talked rubbish and constantly blamed H for not being there for me in spite of the fact we were both grieving (H prob more at the time.) I found myself arguing with him and defending H. Not helpful!

[Leah123]

I saw four in sequence as a teenager. Three of them were just for a few months each: two were interns, one was a school counselor, and the fourth was an actual, eminent psychoanalyst, though her credentials did me little good. I saw those four for a total of about three years from briefly at 14 and then the other three from about 16-19.

I started seeing my fifth mental health pro about a year and a half ago. It's a big difference, being in therapy then and now, and I'm really enjoying having her in my life, though the work is often difficult and painful. During our therapy I have also occasionally consulted as one-offs, with other therapists to get perspective on our therapeutic relationship, though as it progresses, I no longer feel the need.

[guilloche]

This is fascinating to me... and really interesting for me to go back and make a list of my Ts (and try to figure out which ones were important enough to make the list). I didn't count any that I only saw for one session, but DID count one who I saw 3x before getting kicked out.

I think I may write this up a bit neater and bring it to my current T. I feel like it might help him understand a bit about my reluctance to really jump into therapy (though I'm doing a bit better), and what my experiences have been. Maybe...

Therapists that I counted:

1. Dr. P - taught psych at a couple local universities, I had taken a class with him. I liked him, but never seemed to be able to click. I actually wasn't planning to go back after I left mid-way through the mmpi test (omg, awful!) but ended up back when none of his referrals worked out, and I couldn't figure out where else to go. Saw him for about a year, but got kicked out when consult T diagnosed me with a dissociative disorder (b/c he didn't have experience with those.)

2. Dr. S - Dr. P gave me a couple referrals when I stopped showing up. One was Dr. S, his wife. I went in, was as honest as I could be (particularly around si... very difficult for me). At the end of session #3 she told me that she was going to be on vacation for 2 weeks, and that I really needed someone who could be there immediately, so she kicked me out! I ended up landing back on Dr. P's doorstep, even though he was also going to be on vacation, and basically telling him I had no where else to go. Poor Dr. P for getting stuck with me

3. Email-T - While seeing Dr. P, I also started seeing an online "email T". I really liked him. Dr. P wasn't crazy about the idea. I felt like things weren't going great with Dr. P, and I needed someone (email-T) to help me with that, since I wasn't able to talk to Dr. P about it (should have been a big flag for me.) Email T insisted I keep seeing *someone* face to face. Unfortunately, I was using an old, free hushmail account for security - and I don't have access to it anymore. I don't think I have any of email-T's emails. Sad, lots of useful ways of looking at the world. *sigh*. In retrospect, I think email-T may have been the best actual therapy that I've had.

4. Dr. T - she taught an assertive class I took. I bounced into her office a couple times, then was gone, then came back after consult-T (below). I really liked her, very nice and good at seeing patterns, although we never really got into my stuff. She kind of blew off the dissociative stuff though, after the consult, which was hard. I actually thought about going back to see her, but her office has moved farther from me.

5. Consult-T - after a year of not knowing what to do with me, Dr. P sent me to see a specialist in dissociative disorders, who did a very formal battery of tests with me. She was actually fabulous, and Dr. P had told me that if I liked her, I could switch to her. This was really the only T that felt like GOT it - but oops, sorry, she wasn't taking new patients (too busy writing her book). So 3 sessions to consult, then see ya. By the way, Dr. P then terminated me, b/c he didn't have experience with DDs. (About a year later, when I was still having an awful time finding a new T, I tried contacting her. She still wouldn't take me as a client.)

6. Dr. B - Recommended by consult T, saw for several sessions, but didn't click. And, I showed up one day and the door to the building was locked (he says he called and left me the code, but I didn't get it). Ended up not going back.

7. S - Saw for 3 years. I truly believe that she really liked me and wanted to help, and she seemed kind and caring. I liked her, but I never got into anything (and I hated going!). I'm not sure why it didn't work. After 3 years, I gave up on therapy (until now, with new T). Part of me wonders if I went back to her now, given I'm in a more stable place, if she could help.

8. Dr. G - current T. Still trying to figure it out. Cautiously optimistic.

--------

Therapists that I did NOT count:

1. Dr. R - one of the early ones, referred by a friends dad, CBT, only went once, didn't like the office, didn't like CBT, an overall bad feeling. 1 visit.

2. Some woman recommended by Dr. P. I think he may have been her supervisor. She was very young, and difficult to get to her office. I didn't think she could help with my stuff. 1 visit.

3. (Grad school) Some woman I found online who had experience with DDs, after getting diagnosed by consult-T. Awful. Got lost going to her office, didn't click at all, felt like she was yelling at me about dissociative stuff... (like: "hey? Are you dissociating now? Well STOP THAT.") Then had a fight about receipts... just terrible. I think it was only one visit, but I'm honestly not sure.

4. (Grad school) Therapist in the school's counseling center, recommended by consult-T. She had worked with consult T, so I thought, great, she knows about dissociative stuff. One visit. She told me that the counseling center only saw students short term (unless they didn't have insurance for T) and that I needed long term T. I pointed out that my crappy grad-student-insurance didn't cover T (and I wasn't working), but no help. I knew she worked part time off-site, and asked about seeing her there. No. Basically, just "no, please go away and don't bother me". I have NO clue what I did to make such an awful impression, and it's hard to understand how therapists can say, "Oh you need much more help than I can give you - but I'm not going to actually refer you to anyone, just please go away and leave me alone now." Sigh.

I feel more crazy now!

[brillskep]

I picked one because I have only had one long term therapist. But I have had therapeutic relationships and experiences with others, just for one or two sessions though, or in short-term group therapy, so I didn't count those. If I had, it would be 10 just off the top of my head, probably more. But the longest term of those (other than my therapist) lasted three or four months. The others I may have known for years but I was only in therapy with them for one or two sessions.

[The_little_didgee]

3.

Number 1: an adolescent health physician. He was nice and pleasant to talk to, but was not very effective because the psychiatrist misdiagnosed me. I saw him for two years (16 to 18).

Number 2: a social worker. I saw her in my mid twenties for about 4 years at a community health center. I really liked and trusted her. She helped me with grief and got me treatment for a mental illness.

Number 3: a psychiatrist. I started seeing her over two years ago. She has really helped me because she decided to listen and do her own assessment one that was independent of other psychiatric opinions. Once I was properly diagnosed it profoundly affected therapy. For the first time ever I can say with confidence that therapy has been effective.

[bounceback]

Originally Posted by bounceback

I've had 7 therapists

First one 2 years awesome therapist but was numb the whole time, really made me feel cared about.
Second one 2 years. She had a lot of her own issues and was kind of wacko.
Third one 1 year then she dumped me because I was too angry.
Forth one was supposedly my therapist but I never saw her except for in group, which I ended up kicked out of.
Fifth one 1 year.
Sixth one the same as the third. She took me back after I had mellowed out a lot. I had her for about 3 years. I became one of her favorite patients.
Seventh one the best one of all. 5 years. Really helped me get through the emotional stuff and could finally feel with her, really loved her.
Eighth one almost 7 years. Struggled a lot with our relationship in the beginning, sometimes still struggle. I have shared more with her than any other. She has been there through the deaths of both my parents, my uncle, my cat, my brother-in-law, my sister's cancer.

So grateful to have her though.

[nottrustin]

2-

1st one only saw for a few months about 22 years ago. She was contracted by my college to see students. I had a pretty great working relationship with her. She was the first person I opened up to about csa with bio dad. Then the school decided to discontinue their contract with her so they no longer offered therapy at all. I kept hoping we could work something out with my insurance so that I could continue to see her but that never happened. Shortly before one of my last sessions with her, I opened up about CSA from stepdad.... Ended up never seeing her again or anybody else until T2

2nd started seeing her about 6 ish years ago. Started seeing her initially to deal with grief over losing my mom, stress of being mom to 3 kids (2 with ADHD), abandonment and abuse from bio dad. After about 1 year I finally opened up about stepdad. She was only the second person to ever know about this. We have an awesome relationship and she is always there to help with my crazy life and moods.