I saw Therapist #3 on Thursday afternoon, by which time I was already really tired of talking about myself! I did like her a lot, and she had a thoughtful response to my question about what method she would use to help me work through things. However, she was not in my insurance network, which means that I would have to pay the first $1,000 of therapy before my insurance company would start picking up the tab. And then they would only pay 70%.

And here's the other thing - I was too comfortable with Therapist #3. I had a feeling we'd end up chatting a lot and possibly get off track. And after all, I was looking for a therapist, not a friend. I might have sold her short - it's very possible that she would keep our sessions on track. But the possibility that she wouldn't, along with the insurance issue, kept her from being my first choice.

Since I had no clear choice at this point, I really, really hoped that Therapist #4 would work out. I saw her on Friday morning and was immediately impressed. She was not at all ditsy and had a good answer to my "method" question. Also, though I was unlikely to ever need it, her answering machine message gave the number of her cell phone in case of emergencies. That's more than most therapists will provide (probably for a good reason) but indicated to me that she really cared about her patients.

So I told her at the end of the session that I would like to go forward with seeing her. I probably should have gone home and thought about it for a couple of days, but I really wanted to settle on someone.

So maybe I'll add impulsiveness to the list of things I want to work on with this therapist.