How Long Until I Get Better?

This is a popular question in the mental field that probably doesn’t get asked enough by patients. There are so many factors involved in a patient’s progress; the type of support they have from family and friends, their willingness to commit to themselves and their treatment, and of course the clinician’s ability to track each patient and work with them in a way that enables optimal growth.

Measuring ‘results’ in therapy is not as empirically set as in other sciences. There is no magic number of sessions required to begin therapy with me. What I do require is that patients take responsibility for their part of the therapy. I expect each patient to show up and do the work with me. We take a collaborative approach that requires both parties to be curious about the material being brought into the room.

Ideally, therapy ends when all of a patient’s goals have been met. If someone entered therapy to treat social anxiety and they no longer fear interacting with others, their work is complete. Or if an individual wants to communicate better with their coworkers and they’ve learned to navigate those relationships and can communicate constructively, the goals have been met.

Many clients have goals that are less specific, like improving confidence or reducing and managing stress. Therapy may end when you’ve learned the coping skills necessary to accomplish your goals autonomously on an ongoing basis. Some patients meet their goals in a few months, others spend years in therapy, formulating new goals as their lives improve and evolve. As long as someone is benefiting from therapy and we have something specific to focus on, then we can continue working together.