Starting Over with a New Therapist
There are many reasons why you might find yourself in the position of finding a new therapist. Whether you are coming back to therapy after a few months or years after your last experience with therapy, or perhaps you are continuing immediately after a closure with your most recent therapist, there are a few ways to consider and prepare for beginning the therapeutic journey with a new therapist.
Whether it is due to a move, a change in insurance, or perhaps your therapist is changing practice or taking some time off, there are many reasons that a therapeutic relationship may come to an end. Perhaps the fit does not feel quite right with your current therapist or you are feeling static and that you and your therapist are reaching the limits of your work together. Some therapy experiences are meant to be short term and may last 5-10 weeks/sessions, other times you may be with the same therapist for several years. In either circumstance, and all of those in between, there are some ways that you can prepare and consider the termination process to make it a helpful, healing, and positive experience.
An important part of the transition process is to create closure with your current therapist. Like other close relationships, our relationships with our therapists include intimacy and vulnerability. The process of any relationship ending can evoke feelings of abandonment and starting over. Having a concluding conversation and reflecting on the work accomplished together can help to mitigate these feelings. Practically, it can be helpful to learn from your therapist what modalities they used through your work together, reflect on aspects of your therapist's identity that facilitated your work together, and also to reflect on any limitations or opportunities that you felt were missing from this therapeutic experience. Depending on the circumstances, your current therapist may be able to complete a “Release of Information” which will enable them to share information with your next therapist to ease the transition and sense of “starting over”.
Starting with a new therapist is also a great opportunity to reevaluate your goals for therapy. It naturally creates space to step back from the work you have been doing and take time to reflect on what progress you have already made. When your next therapist inevitably asks, “So, what’s bringing you to therapy at this time?”, will your answer be the same as when you initially began therapy, or are you ready to look towards a different direction and perhaps new patterns and feelings to process? Another benefit of seeing a new therapist is that the therapeutic relationship is uniquely personal; your new therapist will bring a new perspective, new set of experiences, and new skill set and may be able to work through your concerns in a new, helpful way that perhaps you and your prior therapist were not considering. Additionally, although it may feel at times like a setback, growth and learning can happen for us personally every time we are able to open up and share more about ourselves. The retelling and sharing of your experiences can be inherently healing and there is value in that process as well.
If you have questions or are considering starting therapy with a new clinician, we welcome you to reach out and discuss your options with our Client Concierge.
Services Offered At Repose Therapy
At Repose Therapy, our goal is to provide the best HOLISTIC PSYCHOTHERAPY services among other evidence-based therapy services to you. We enjoy working with college students, mothers, parents, couples, and individuals who are seeking better mental wellness in their life. If you’re struggling or trying to find a way to move forward, then our DIVERSE TEAM OF THERAPISTS would be thrilled to work with you. If grief counseling isn’t the service you’re seeking, no worries. We offer other services at our ONLINE THERAPY OFFICE IN NEW YORK, CONNECTICUT, AND NEW JERSEY. Other services include EMDR THERAPY, ANXIETY TREATMENT, PTSD TREATMENT, AND TRAUMA THERAPY, THERAPY FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS, MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH, MARRIAGE COUNSELING AND COUPLES THERAPY, THERAPY FOR TEENS, LGBTQIA+ THERAPY, ART THERAPY, DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY.
Additionally, we offer many GROUPS at our practice including an adult DBT skills group MANAGING EMOTIONS WITH DBT and Art Therapy, MINDFULNESS-BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY, EMBRACING YOUR BODY, and a Ramadan group. If you’re interested in any of our other services, please reach out, we cannot wait to work with you as you improve your well-being and begin your journey towards healing.