I have a few Thuja projects going, but all my projects are relatively new to me, 5 years or less. I definitely would let it recover.
If it were my tree, I would have made the switch to a bonsai potting media and a low wide training pot right away. When you make the shift to a bonsai soil, you will have to leave it recover a growing season, thus "loosing training time", it would have been best to make the shift right away, and then give it the growing season off to recover. File this thought for future reference, no changing things now.
Like their "cousins" the Hinoki, Thuja branches split away from their trunks fairly easily, especially in spring. In fact it is best to put off wiring to late summer or autumn, when the splitting is slightly, and I do mean only slightly less easy to tear off a branch from a trunk. Slight tearing will heal, if you tore half way through, it will likely always be weak and floppy. You might have to use something like grafting tape to bind the branch back to its trunk rather tightly to get it to heal.
One of the "natural" styles for Thuja is the "candelabra style". Use the search function of BNut, there are at least 2 threads, maybe more discussing this style. One is in reference to spruce, but much applies to Thuja. Also google images of old Thuja. Look for state record trees to see old thuja.
The other thing to consider are styles normally used for Hinoki. There are many similarities between Thuja and Hinoki, mainly the foliage appearance. Styling inspiration from one for the other is appropriate.
Not to hijack your thread, but offer inspiration, here are 2 of my projects and an image from David Crust.
First is a Thuja collected recently in northern MI, it looks very much like many of the old styled Hinoki, but with more deadwood. I have done zero styling work. I will prune it back some, later this summer. I picked this up less than a year ago.
This one is a nursery Thuja it is 'Hetz's Dwarf' - it has somewhat "golden" foliage, and tends to stay wider than tall. I picked it up 4 years ago, only "styled" it once, and will do a second styling sometime this summer or maybe next year. This one I am more or less going with a candelabra style. First thumb is right after initial styling. Second thumb is summer 2019.
This last image is a tree owned by David Crust, the image is owned by David Crust. This is a Thuja he calls 'Lucinda', the photo is from 2017.
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