So you’ve decided it’s time to start working a therapist to help with your trauma recovery? or maybe you need to move on to a new therapist for any number of reasons.

The transition can be very tough, frustrating, and bring up a host of emotions ranging from joy to sadness, abandonment to acceptance, and more.

During the initial communication; virtually, phone, or in person, it’s important to use this time wisely and learn as much about your potential new therapist as possible. They are also there to learn about you and how they can potentially help in your healing.

Don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to get a feel for how the therapist-client relationship could work. Asking questions means you are advocating for yourself, and that is always important.

These questions were given to CPTSD Foundation from a previous member of our programs, to be distributed freely. This list includes questions that can be helpful as you consider working with a new therapist. This is not an exhaustive list, and is provided for your informational purposes only. We encourage you to think of additional topics that are important to you from past therapeutic relationships, and what you’ve learned in your healing to date.

The important thing is to make sure that you are comfortable with your new therapist, and be as open and honest as possible. It may take a long time, and you may need to contact several different offices before finding the right match for you.

If your therapist prefers not to answer, it does not mean they are immediately a wrong fit for you or they are being dishonest; there may be internal policies and other factors that do not allow them to answer certain questions or disclose certain information.

• Are you experienced with and have therapeutic tools to help with CPTSD (complex trauma, Complex PTSD)?

• Have you done your own work in therapy?

• Have you read Pete Walkers book, “From Surviving to Thriving” and Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, “The Body Keeps the Score”?

• In addition to “Fight or Flight”, do you also agree with the two additional trauma responses that Pete Walker outlines, “Freeze or Fawn”?

• Are you familiar with covert narcissistic abuse and recovery?

• Do you have supervision/collaboration with other therapists in group?

• Are you familiar with CBT and/or DBT skills and can you incorporate them in therapy as applicable? 

• Are you familiar with co-morbid disorders: (list your own here) examples: anxiety, flashbacks, avoidance, learned helplessness, dissociation, autism traits, self-harm, suicidality, eating disorders?

• What is the focus of therapy? Past or present?

• How structured will therapy be? Homework? Use of books, worksheets, etc.

• Which tools do you use for trauma work when there is dissociation? How do you respond when there is dissociation in session?

• What kind of experience do you have with developmental trauma/dissociation/identity issues?

• How often do you recommend meeting? How long would sessions be?

• Contact between sessions? Is it possible? When is it okay to do and where is the limit? (Specifically email, text, calls)

• Emergency policy

• Is a crisis held against client as a possible means of termination of the relationship?

• Will you assess or diagnose more than once, if necessary?

• Physical contact policy? State up front if you don’t want to be touched or need to sit a certain distance away.

• Response to self-harm; is there an established policy?

• Religion/spirituality/philosophy? What is your positioning in these and if they are or can be incorporated into sessions?

• Are there plans for future education, areas you are branching out in professionally?

• Who leads? What is the session like? Co-leadership? Turn taking?

• Can you give me as much notification as possible for any breaks in therapy? (Vacations, business trips, etc.)

• Can we openly communicate before and after breaks directly regarding this? (Abandonment fears support, coping skills, self-care and potential for growth from these breaks in therapy?)