How long should you commit to seeing a therapist?

[hades_leae]

I feel like people probably don't set this goal, or at least when I think about the individuals whom I've met in the past. I had set goals for myself many years back when I saw my therapist, it was only a few months. She was great,and I believe we worked good together as a team to help me with some of the anxiety issues I was having at the time.


Shouldn't you set a time frame for how long you will give for your therapist to help you with your problem?

 

[Alex]

I don't think it's possible to say how long you should see someone as it depends on your level of issues and whether it costs too much. Some free therapy is limited to so many sessions or has subsidized fees and that can make a difference. Often it's best for the therapist to say when, (honest ones) and I had one that said he could no longer help me as he had done all he could. That made me feel good that I had made progress, but I am aware there are therapists who milk their clients and that's when it's much harder to know if you are getting better or if they are just making money.


Sorry if that's skeptical, but I have heard of some that are like that.

 

[Quirah]

I don't think you should limit your therapy. In a way, putting a time limit on your therapy is already putting you in a negative head space which isn't good. Just try to go to therapy with no time limits in your head. If you feel your therapist isn't helping after a while, try another one. If you're therapy is going good, keep going until you feel there's nothing else you could possibably get out of that therapist.

 

[John Snort]

I think you can tell whether therapy is working after two weeks or so but that will vary from individual to individual depending on the severity of the problems you want to deal with. I've heard that some people need only a few sessions while for others it could take longer for them to start seeing the positive effects of therapy. I think how long you should commit to seeing a theraphist should be dependent on how you feel not what the therapist wants you to do because some are in it only for the money after all.

 

[Tito24]

I like to try and take stock every three months. If I feel as though I've made some progress, even it's just a little, then I'm satisfied with my therapist.


What was really awkward for me was getting used to telling my therapist when I wasn't happy with how a session went. I mean the therapist-client relationship is really weird in that it's both emotional and transactional, so I needed to find a way to give her feedback as a customer. Once we got comfortable with that, it was easier to sit down and reflect on how effective the sessions have been.

 

[woodpeck]

I agree with the idea of having a reflection upon it every few months or so, it seems like a really good way to keep track of your needs and progress. Also having the level of honesty wherein you can speak openly to your therapist about your thoughts on the session you just had seems so important! I'm about to start counselling so I'll keep this in mind, I'm pretty nervous about it.

 

[Panic57]

I've always had a limited time with a therapist because of my finances so I always had to work with a very aggressive plan to deal with my problems. I find that while waiting in the office, I would meet the 'regulars' the ones who have a problem and have been going to the same therapist for years. They always end up admitting to stagnating after six months or a year, but because they liked the therapist they stayed because it's comfortable. There are always a couple regulars who just want a friend but don't actually want to make an effort to find one and think they need to use money to make a 'friendly' hostage of their therapist. Though, I sometime think that really bad therapist have those types of regulars because it's easy. I think it would be easy for a therapist to know you and say what you want to hear instead of what you need to hear to get better for a consistent paycheck. That's why I try never to go to the same therapist, I have three good ones to call, twice in a row. It keeps them honest. Besides, most of the advice they want to tell you to do is meant for you to work on by yourself outside of the session. You can just tell them you're short on money, make a time limit, and have them make an aggressive plan for you to work on by yourself, then you can go to the therapist when you're struggling with the plan instead of once or twice a week.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

It totally depends. In my opinion, you, as a patient, can't really say on how many sessions do you want to finish, or in how many sessions do you want to be cured. I mean, sometimes even the therapist don't even know how much time will you need.


All those questions are going to be answered on the course of the therapy, but still, if you don't feel comfortable with your therapist you can always leave them for other one who adapts to you better.


On that aspect you do have the power of decision.

 

[Pijuy]

I think you should try to talk that out with your therapist. In my case, I saw a therapist for a year and a half the first time. She ended it (lol almost like a breakup) when she thought I was ready to stand on my own two feet. I didn't go to a therapist for about 2 years and a half and I felt fine. I just started going again because I hit a bump in the road and eventually it turned into a crisis. I'm going when I feel I need it, usually and it's been twice a month right now. I trust her. And she knows when she can let go of my hand.

 

[Dove]

I think you should try to talk that out with your therapist. In my case' date=' I saw a therapist for a year and a half the first time. She ended it (lol almost like a breakup) when she thought I was ready to stand on my own two feet. I didn't go to a therapist for about 2 years and a half and I felt fine. I just started going again because I hit a bump in the road and eventually it turned into a crisis. I'm going when I feel I need it, usually and it's been twice a month right now. I trust her. And she knows when she can let go of my hand. [/quote']
Sounds you have a great therapist.


I mean, it will depend on your symptoms, on what you have and if you "click" with your therapist. Indeed it is a weird situation, because, after all, you are a client but as well, you are a patient that must hear some advice. I believe that just like friendships, you need to have some sort of chemistry with your therapist. However, this will be a friendship with expiration date, because you will need to eventually stand on your own.

 

[Azelma]

There's no way to answer this in a way that applies to everyone, or even most people. In my own case, 10 years of therapy should get rid of the worst of my symptoms (for my personality disorder only), so I've got about 8 years to go And that's with other issues besides the personality disorder. Also I haven't been feeling like making much progress lately, but then again it's been a hectic life situation for me for the past months. So here's hoping we'll get back to some kind of rhythm and start cracking down on those problems again.


But yeah, the answer is completely dependent on your mental health issues, your personality and other traits, your therapist and their methods and of course your own motivation.

 

[sidney]

I think it depends on your budget and your recovery time. I have seen a therapist recently and she was the problem lol since she didn't show up on the agreed appointment time. For me I think that if you still feel that you need help then you should not stop seeing your psychiatrist or therapist.

 

[111kg]

I have never ever seen a therapist, but I am planning to see one in order to fix my anxiety problems and to see whether or not I have a attention deficit disorder. However, if I am not going to see anything good in a matter of months, I don't to spend too much money on this. I mean, if they can help me, they will. If not, I am not going to make them rich without doing anything good for me.

 

[Azelma]

I think it depends on your budget and (...)

Oh right, I completely forgot about this - I live in a country where these kinds of services are paid for by the government. Having to pay for your own therapy certainly brings another issue to the table. I couldn't afford any sort of therapy on my own at the moment, for example (well, maybe some sort... the shady and untrustworthy sort )

 

[Dove]

I am replying today because precisely, on my way to work, I heard on the radio about how some therapist have been giving around some really bad advice to people. I guess it also depends on the culture you live in. Even if there is some science involved, we have to remember therapist are people too, and the may be biased by personal experiences and social common experiences. This might affect their way to do their job and how their consults go.

 

[17emilyhalko]

I don't think that there's a specific amount of time that you should set for yourself to commit to a therapist. It's nice to make goals, however, I think that you should see a therapist until you feel that you genuinely don't need one anymore, until you feel ready enough to leave. Personally, I saw my therapist for a little less than a year, and that amount of time was very sufficient for me, but the time that everyone will need with a therapist definitely varies, depending on many factors. It is also something that you won't initially know and cannot set a time frame for, because you never know when you'll be ready to leave.

 

[rz3300a]

Well this one certainly depends on the person and the therapist. You really have to know what you want to gain from the whole experience, and you have to know yourself as well. How to react to therapy is something that can change with time and experience, and you really have to do some self-evaluation before you decide on things like this. I wish anyone luck in their searches, though, and there are a lot of good people out there who can help. Thanks for sharing.

 

[HappyKoi]

Personally, I think it depends on how you feel about the therapist overall. When it comes to accomplishing your goals, everyone is different, and you'll have sessions that are easier and ones that are harder. Plus, if something major happens in your life, that will change things quite a bit. As long as you feel that you're working well with your therapist and making progress overall, I think you should stick with them. One of the problems of setting a deadline to "be better" is that, as the deadline nears, you might get anxious about what progress you have or haven't made, and that can stop you right in your tracks.


Unfortunately, a lot of insurance companies don't seem to understand this, and therapy gets rushed or issues don't get resolved. It's one of the things I hope gets changed someday.

 

[MoniqueNicole]

Interesting question! I think it really depends. I feel fortunate that I really liked my psychologist from the start. However, she had been personally referred by a family friend. I was very nervous but she made me feel comfortable talking to her. I just felt like we communicated well and she was genuinely very kind. Therefore, if you don't get a good vibe from your therapist you should at least commit to trying someone else before giving up the process entirely. Once you like someone though, I think you should try it for a few months at the very least. I saw my psychologist every other week for several months then slowly started to decrease to once a month. I was only going once every few months for a while, but I've been struggling a bit more lately. So I will likely see her a little more often now, at least for a little while.

 

[Fae]

Committing to a certain amount of time for a therapist... it feels like putting the cart before the horse. I may not know if the therapist will mesh well with me--it happened once that I didn't mesh well with a counselor and rather than quitting, I got into a people-pleasing spot where I felt compelled to finish out the allotted sessions, as well as join an extra group she suggested. I felt poorly understood and like there was a pressure to make clear improvements within the confines of hers and the groups expectations.


You should aim for the therapy time right for you with a person you feel comfortable with, or else it might very well turn into a waste of time. The intent is to get help, not help the ambitions of someone else.