Did You Lose Trust in Therapy? Here’s How to Get It Back

What’s hardest isn’t asking for help—it’s doing it again after a bad experience. Maybe you went to therapy and felt misunderstood, stuck, or judged when you most needed compassion. That hurts—a different kind of pain—because you opened a vulnerable part of yourself.
When that happens, it’s normal to close the door. Losing trust in therapy doesn’t mean it doesn’t work; it means someone didn’t know how to accompany you properly. Regaining that trust isn’t easy, but it is possible.

When Help Didn’t Feel Like Help
Many people come to therapy with scars from previous experiences: “The psychologist just listened and said nothing,” “I felt analyzed, not helped,” “I wasn’t comfortable, so I stopped going.”
Therapy shouldn’t be a place where you feel judged—it should be a space where you can breathe without fear.
But like any human relationship, there’s either connection or there isn’t. Not every therapist will make you feel understood, and that doesn’t invalidate psychotherapy—it just means you haven’t yet found the right space or the right person.
Sometimes trust is lost due to unrealistic expectations. We look for quick results or immediate answers, but therapy is a process that reveals things step by step. When change takes time, frustration shows up.
That’s why it’s important to understand that healing takes time. Trust is built—just like the therapeutic bond.

How to Trust Therapy (and Yourself) Again
Understand that a bad experience doesn’t define you as a patient—it was a situation, not your destiny. Giving yourself another chance means allowing yourself to do it differently this time.
Find a therapist with whom you feel comfortable from the first contact. Ask for an initial session to see if there’s a connection—no pressure. Talk about your fears, even about your past bad experience. A good therapist will know how to listen without taking it personally and will use that to build trust with you.
Shift your mindset: don’t go expecting the therapist to have all the answers—this is teamwork. The therapist guides you, but you remain the main character in your own process.
Trust grows when you get involved, when you express what you feel, and when you give yourself time to notice the small steps forward.