Therapist Difficulty

My therapist has, herself, experienced episodes of severe depression that required hospitalization.

This is both positive and negative with regard to having her as my therapist. On the positive side, she seriously understands what it’s like to have a mental illness — at least depression. She can easily spot when I need to be inpatient. She has an empathy that a non-mentally-ill therapist cannot have, by definition.

However, the negative of this is that her depression recurs and when it does, she is unable to fully meet my needs as her client. I don’t blame her for it; I know she doesn’t do it on purpose. Yet there it is.

Earlier this year she did spend some inpatient time in a nearby city (not where I went). Since then she has been doing much better, but lately she’s seemed much more stressed and she’s been less dependable about our appointments. I left Timberlawn a week ago yesterday, and I was meant to see her within 7 days. She canceled our original Thursday appointment, then this morning she didn’t show. She called me later and said she “had a sore throat and took some medicine for it and didn’t wake up until late” (it was after 11:00 when she called). Since I am expert at making excuses when I’m depressed, I take what she said with a grain of salt. What kind of sore throat medicine would make a person sleep so long?

I’m really concerned. I care about her personally, for one thing, but also there is the effect on my own mental health. I must have regular therapy, and I’m not sure she’s able to provide it. Because of this, I need to find a new therapist.