Therapist leaving

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Today was my last session with my therapist. She is absolutely fantastic and I made a lot of progress with her. I'm really sad to her go. I was OK until she started crying then I admit I got a little misty eyed. So now I have no idea who I'm getting as a replacement. They will have someone for me in 1 - 2 weeks. The only therapist I've had a positive experience with has been her, although she was not my only therapist. If any of you have had a similar change I'd like to hear your experience. How did the new therapist turn out for you?

I got pretty upset when my only therapist at the time (2004) said she was leaving to take another position-
she was my lifeline, my link to services & understanding.
I didn't like her replacement, but a few counselors later,
I found a team at the clinic with whom I could work/bond.

I asked my former counselor to write me a letter helping to summarize
what we'd done together, how she saw me, and she did.
It's an awesome letter, I still have it (and this was a decade ago, almost),
she says really nice things plus it helped consolidate what our relationship became.
I really appreciated that she did that for me, because positive things,
any sense of gain or accomplishment tends to sieve away, dissolve immediately for me.

I wish you (the OP) strength, fortitude, perseverance in finding a new counselor,
hope you're given some choice (over who you get to select from).

My psychiatrist is retired, but he and I are still friends, er, he is still my therapist.

Couldn't your old therapist make a referral?

That was really nice. Thanks Belfast.

This center that I go to has about 10 therapists and they are all interns working under the supervision of psychiatrists. They are all less than a year away from their Psy.D. When one group leaves another group starts. There is only a one week overlap which they use to brief the new people on the cases that are assigned to them. Each group has very little opportunity to have contact with the other on anything other than a 1 on 1 basis as caseloads are passed on intact from old therapist to new therapist based on assignment. I don't have the choice of going to another place because these are the only people that prorate based on income in my area. Doesn't hurt that the place is only a 5 minute walk away too. Anyway, she said she would try to talk to a few of them and request the one she feels would be best for me but I don't told me that what she can do is very limited based on the timetable.

Are clients there able to have some input into whom they're assigned ?
I understand you're at mercy of your financial circumstances & their good graces.
Yet I still wish that there was some way to better match providers with clientele,
based on their personalities (whatever you'd call it when you "mesh" well with another person)

can completely relate because the current LD pyschologist of mine has left to go do another full time masters degree to become a high level [consultant?] LD pysch,she gets the masters degree paid for by social services and had already got through the interview for it so she coudnt say no,but the bias in KoR said dont go.

had been chosen to work with her because she had only worked with LD only clients up to now [US=intelectual disability] and did not have any deep autism understanding so we both helped each other in lots of ways.
she knew am not interactive,dont 'attach' to humans and take a long time to get people into routine before developing any interaction with them,she had aproached it so differently to every other pyschologist have ever had.
it started by going out with her and a staff for walks [well,her=walk,KoR=roll,in the wheelie]-she took her dog along with her because of the deep connection have got with animals and we over time bonded someway in the middle.saw her twice a week.

she was an incredible support,she was the only person had ever talked to about horrible things that have happened in past,she also was completely non judgemental she listened and gave real support and woud advocate on behalf and improved the way am treated by staff.
she wasnt afraid of behaviors of mine like some people are,and didnt judge on them even when she didnt understand.
if it wasnt for her woud not have been supported to get into autism and LD activism nor woud have been able to make the social network without her.
she then started the transitions towards her leaving,we were going to to starbucks to pick up a starbucks and go for a walk with rio [her dog] but a staff from here phoned in pulling a sickie so was not able to go out as we did not have enough staff [am two to one support], but she picked up the exact frappachino and brought her dog to our front garden, rather than just not come at all and see the fall out from it.
had made a canvas picture for her,of the most treasured cockerel of mine; used tshirts shaped into each part of the chicken rather than paint,she loved it,we keep in contact and am sent photos of what rio is getting up to [he is a funny dog that starts making a grunting noise when he sees fresh horse poo and starts veering towards it for an extra meal ] but any contact has to be through the manager of the house,am told its to keep it profesional.
am glad at least she recognises people build friendships with pyschologists they like, and its stupid how some of them see it as just a job when its about more than that for the client.
sister who had met her several times in meetings had said she will make an amazing cons pyschologist and she is definitely right about that.

Last edited by KingdomOfRats on 07 Aug 2013, 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Okay, it's not a private practice.

KoR, thank (you) for sharing (your) touching story.

I know there's this "professional stance" stuff,
but they're (mental health workers) still human beings, too-
with likes & dislikes, quirks & hangups,
and some of them get along with some of us better than others.

It's really an individual-mutual-"fit", like in any relationship.
And who we get along well with or don't is an individual, personal matter.

All I can say is I'm not going to stay with someone I don't like. I will definitely give them a chance and keep open minded but, if the chemistry isn't right I'll ask for a different person. I can't say for sure they will give me a different person because it adds one more client to someones caseload but I'm going to think positive.