Is Therapy Always Long Term?

The only thing you can count on in life is that things will change. Life is full of transitions- a new job, a new relationship, a difficult life circumstance, a new baby, or an upcoming difficult decision. It is normal in these times to feel stuck, overwhelmed, anxious, or burned out.

A therapist can help you process your feelings with an unbiased individual who is not part of your everyday life, and as such, allows you to work through your own feelings, opinions, and concerns in order to proceed feeling empowered, in control, and prepared for the next steps.

Therapy is not always long term. Yes, it is true, some individuals need to make a long term commitment to the therapeutic process; however, many individuals can often utilize only a handful of sessions to work through something important to their life and then only utilize therapy as needed or wanted. We want to help remove the stigma of therapy as something people become dependent on and we want to normalize therapy as a preventative service that can help everyone.

Clients becoming dependent on therapy is never our goal as therapists! We want to empower our clients to manage whatever their struggles are independently and confidently. We want clients who come regularly because they feel they are learning and growing and we want them to feel comfortable telling us, "I'm ready to end sessions", "I'm ready to come less often", or "I'm ready to come as needed."

Sometimes therapy is simply a way to work through a decision free from concern of hurting or offending a friend, family member, or coworker. Sometimes therapy is learning a specific set of coping skills like mindfulness or frustration tolerance. Sometimes therapy is a few parent coaching sessions to work through a stuck point with a child. Therapy can be immensely beneficial as a short term resource.

Let's let go of the old-fashioned idea that therapy is always a long term commitment. Let's start imagining what just a handful of sessions might help us accomplish.