Getting started

I just started therapy with a new t. I haven't had any success with therapy in the past and I think it was a result of a lack of compatibility between my old therapists styles and my personality and my general resistance to therapy. I had a hard time communicating why I was there in the first session and got really defensive really fast. Does anyone have any advice or anything on how to approach this? I want to actually get something out of therapy but I'm having a hard time getting past myself :/

Ellie Jo, i would just go in, introduce yourself, explain what your symptoms are: ex: angry, tired, lonely and say those are the things you want to work on. Then the therapist will ask you a bunch of questions that will lead you into slowly telling your story and share it in such a way that it is like two old friends talking. Then from there it shows you the circumstances that caused or brought about your problems. Then the therapist usually guides you into answering a question on what you think or how you would approach something like that and what your goal is. It is all good. Just go and relax and it will all work out. Blessings and tc.

Your defensiveness will be there for good reason. Don't fight it. Just acknowledge to the new T --- "This is making me feel really defensive" - Your T will know what to do with that, and how to calm the bit of you that is causing this reaction.

My T lists among many things 'general dissatisfaction' as one reason someone might enter therapy.
Try that.

^^This is what my T tells me. Our defences are there for a reason - to protect us, and we shouldn't expect (or wish) to drop them the minute we walk through the door to therapy.
I think it's important to find a therapist who seems consistent and understanding, who you feel comfortable with, and then take your time and pace yourself. It took me a year with current T to start expressing emotion, and I still find myself being resistant and defensive. It's to be expected.

Our defences are there for a very good reason. They help us survive, they are creative adjustments we have made to get us through difficult situations. Any t that tries to break down your defences is incompetent and I would run away from them as fast as I could!
Therapy is an unnatural situation, I mean when was the last time we told our deepest darkest secrets to a stranger. It's natural not to want to do this or to trust that it is ok to do this.

Building a relationship and building trust is paramount.
If after a few sessions Ellie jo, you still are feeling defensive and have a bad feeling about therapy I would trust this because you know yourself best and there is probably a good reason why it hasn't worked in the past. Some ts just don't work for some people.

I would try to be aware in your new therapy sessions of what is happening in your body, this is usually a good indicator of how you are feeling with a t. For example are you avoiding eye contact, are your hands fidgeting, are they sweaty. Is your stomach quesy, is your heart fluttering?
Is your foot tapping or moving. What are these telling you?
A good t can see your anxiety or nervousness and try to reassure you that this is a survival mechanism for you.
I hope that you find a good t that can help you to find a way to monitor those defences and to see that they are helpful and serve a good purpose but perhaps they are working too much and stopping everything from getting close to you.

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Thanks guys, I will definitely bring it up in session. I hope my t works with it like you say.