How often and for how long should I see a therapist? How many sessions do I need?

In this instance, we will be unable to make a general recommendation. We all confront different challenges and have varied reactions to them. But we can help you get a better idea of what a hypothetical therapy timeline may look like. Depending on how you’re feeling at the time.

What you can accomplish in a single therapy session

If you are meeting with a therapist for the first time, they will be interested in what you bring with you – how you are feeling and what you want to address. It’s fine if you can’t explain it clearly; the therapist will help you. Some inquire about your background or relationships with loved ones. It is determined by their therapeutic method.

After the first session, you can already feel relief. It might be freeing to speak openly about your hardship with someone outside your social bubble who does not condemn you. However, this does not imply that the problem has been resolved. A single therapy session can help you see your current situation in a new light, relieve unpleasant emotions, or guide you to the next step. But it all relies on your ideas and how you feel.

How often do I go to therapy?

We are all different in how sensitive we are to what is going on around us and how we process things in therapy. The time between therapy is usually kept at 1-2 weeks. This is to give you time to calmly process what you discussed with the therapist. This is because the therapy continues to “work” for several hours or even days after it is completed. You are making new discoveries and may still be rethinking certain things or looking for answers to questions. You also get to put into practice what you discussed with the therapist or make the changes you decided to make.

However, if you come to therapy during a difficult time in your life, when you are under a lot of stress and sense things extremely deeply, the therapy may be more intense. If you’re overwhelmed by emotions and don’t know where to turn, more thorough discussion with a therapist can help you figure it out. You can meet once a week or more.

In preventive therapy, however, one session each month may be sufficient to sort out your thoughts and digest the events of the previous few weeks. You and your therapist will discuss this in your first session and decide on the best course of action.

Long-term therapies for long-term psychological well-being

As previously said, relief after the first session does not imply that the ailment has been resolved. But you’re on the right track. Long-term therapy will provide the most beneficial and long-lasting advantages for your psychological well-being. There are four causes for this.

1. Some afflictions take time

Minor issues can be resolved in a few sessions, but more serious issues need time. Only with long-term therapies you can delve deeper and discover the root of the problem, which you may not have been aware of. This is true not only for trauma and life’s most terrible situations, such as the loss of a loved one or depression. It might be anything that has a significant negative impact on your life.

With each session, you will explore new layers of the topic, make connections, and work toward a really long-term solution.

2. A trusting relationship with the therapist is key

According to studies, our relationship with the therapist accounts for up to 50% of the good impacts of treatment. Finding a therapist with whom you can actually talk and going to visit with them on a regular basis is therefore critical to a successful journey toward psychological well-being. Your trust will develop with each session, and you will feel more calm, safe, and comfortable confiding even your deepest sentiments. That is exactly what is required for therapy to be successful.

Don’t have a therapist yet, or are you hesitant if he’s “the one”? Then you will find the article How do you know if you’re doing well and how to find the right one?

3. You will learn techniques for coping with challenging situations

Consider the following scenario: you are coping with a difficult relationship with a family member. You must establish healthy limits so that bad events do not mentally drain you and you can walk away from them. With a therapist, you examine the entire problem, process it, and learn specifically what you can do next time to avoid such a predicament in the future.

When a comparable situation comes and you try out the new strategy, you can share how everything went in the following session. You will gradually learn how to handle these events such that they have the least impact on you. Similarly, you can learn to control social anxiety or crippling stage fright before giving a public speech.

4. Regular therapies work as prevention

You can go to therapy even if you don’t have an urgent problem or if you’ve already fixed it. It can assist you in organizing your thoughts, relieving daily tension, or processing unpleasant feelings. Because if we conceal our feelings because “_it’s not a big problem_“, they will eventually build up and catch up with us.

Therapy will provide you more tranquility, and even bigger obstacles will not turn into bigger problems.

Would you like to try online therapy? Over 40 professional therapists are available at Hedepy. We will offer the three most suitable ones based on a matching test, and you will already choose the right one based on the complete information on the profile. If the first session does not suit you, we will return your money.