Thank you so much for the detailed and well thought out response. To know the things someone as lucid and objective as yourself are thinking about when they seek therapy is invaluable to anyone reading it that is interested in striving to be the best listener they can be. I'm just a med student but im hoping to be a psychiatrist one day and I really appreciated your notes here.

Theres some stuff here that just makes intuitive sense as professionalism like providing service with continuity (taking, referencing, and following up with notes and suggestions from previous encounters) but there was definitely stuff here I appreciated being reminded of like pausing the patient if they need it but might not realize it and thinking about suggestions out loud to show ones thought process in a clear way prior to application. I hope your current therapist is everything you need and your plans work out!