Therapist quit without warning

[Mea2021]

Hi all, I have had weekly therapy sessions with a therapist for about two months when she suddenly quit without warning. I had a session with her a few weeks ago. She said she was going on vacation and would see me the week after next. However, a few days before my next session with her, the owner of the counseling center contacted me to inform me of her sudden resignation. He did offer to place me with another therapist but it's not a good match.

I was just starting to feel comfortable with this therapist. I was making progress and was starting to feel better, but now I am truly devastated. I am in a weird mourning period and feel depressed. Is this normal?

I did find her again through google but I am not sure if this is her new counseling center or a previous one she had before. It looks like she moved around a bit. I am contemplating contacting her but my anxiety and negative thoughts are saying, no, she probably left because she didn't want to counsel you anymore. Or maybe she will be annoyed that I am contacting her. Is this stalking? I don't want to appear as if I am stalking her.

Another part of me also has trust issues because if I contact her and she's cool and takes me on as a patient again, I am afraid she'll just leave again. It would have been better if she had just told me straight up that she was leaving. I can handle that. Then I wouldn't feel like I was a burden to her.

I know I can search for another therapist but I really don't have it in me to start over with the search. Do you all have any advice for this situation? Has this happened to any of you and what did you do? Should I just contact her? Or find another therapist?

Update:

I did reach out. The good news, we talked, and there was an issue that caused her to leave abruptly. Sad news, her new agency does not accept insurance.

[Hidden]

Hmm that is an interesting dilema. If you liked this therapist that much I would see if you could get an appt with her at her new job (if she has one). That is definitely NOT stalking. She will probably be happy to get a “new” customer that she already knows. It is likely when a therapist leaves an organization that they can’t openly solicit their customers to follow them. So you have to contact her.

[Agora1]

Hi Mea2021, it takes a lot of trust and interaction when seeing a therapist. I can

understand your disappointment in her suddenly resigning but I find it impossible

to believe someone would quit their job because of a patient. In life, we are always

losing people we rely on whether it be a doctor, friend or loved ones. Some people

are only meant to be in our lives for a short time. You stated you started seeing a

difference in how you were feeling. Take it as if she may have laid the ground work

for you. Because of that, I wouldn't wait long to renew your therapy sessions so you

can continue to go forward. You can try to find her once again or look for another

therapist. Even when they don't leave, it sometimes takes several changes in order

to feel comfortable which is so important with talk therapy.

And yes I have lost doctors and a therapist so I understand feeling lost for a while.

Whatever you decide, keep moving forward xx

[SoporRose]

If you have the energy, I suggest doing both: contacting your old therapist and trying to find a new one. Even if your former counselor can't take you back as a patient, she may be able to give you a referral to someone whose approach is similar to hers, someone with you will be comfortable.

[cctexan]

wow! does that sound familiar to me! This last year I had two different talk therapists and neither one of them really worked out

one was from better help. it just got too expensive. And then I found the next one and within a month or two they contacted me to say they don’t take my insurance anymore

I was feeling rejected and frustrated

I had no desire to start over again. However I knew I d never get stable if I didn’t

I’m learning to trust my intuition like you felt the what ifs with her. I encourage you to look that’s a good thing to find out now than later

I’m a believer in that God shuts doors if I’m not paying attention. I’m with a patient ,kind woman now. She’s working with my new diagnosis quite well

I have schizoaffective bipolar mixed states so life is quite confusing and she’s patient with that apparently those are really hard to work with and I get paranoid ppl don’t like me as it is

Good luck with the new one. You can do this

[HealthAnxed]

Firstly, the therapist is just the coach. You do all of the work. You are your own safe person whether you accept it or not. You are with you 24/7. You are the person responsible for getting yourself out of every tough patch, not your therapist or friend or family member. Their support is helpful but it is not the ultimate fix. Therapists are people first. They have their own issues. Sometimes, they leave a place for their own mental health. There are also non-compete demands in some contracts that prevent Therapists from doing a proper termination. Don't "what if" this. Decide what you can live with and go for it. You can be fine regardless. It's stressful trying to control a situation you have no control over.

[mareschultz]

My therapist left to go to another agency. I had been seeing her for years. She told me she couldn’t tell me where she was going because of contractual obligations to her former practice. She instructed me to look her up on the web to resume appointments at her new agency which I did. If you have found your therapist at her new place of employment I would contact her. I don’t think she left because she didn’t want to see you anymore.

[bethelbee]

It is normal to go through a period of mourning after losing a therapist no matter the situation. I read an article about it after leaving my last therapist after a few years. He had really helped me but after a while it just wasn't therapeutic anymore. It was actually a mutual 'split' but was difficult and I did mourn for a while. He recommended someone else in the practice but she wasn't a good fit. After a couple months I found a great fit at another practice. I know this isn't your situation. Try to locate your therapist if you can; if not, search for a new one who suits your needs . It will be difficult but not impossible. You can do it.

[Elizabeth830]

You know what I started doing? It’s sad, but I wrote up about 20 single spaced pages about my life and issues. Then if I start a new therapist or psychiatrist I just give them my history. Then it doesn’t take months to get them up to date. Between providers changing insurance carriers etc, I have found this productive.