You’ve been diligently working with your therapist on a weekly basis for several months, and while there’s always room for new topics of discussion, you’re feeling good. Naturally, you ask yourself, “Am I done with therapy?” The answer varies from client to client. Here are some considerations.

Check In With Your Therapist

Your therapist not only has a diagnosis and your goals in mind but also a specific treatment plan. This plan outlines the steps and skills you generally work through to achieve each goal. If you feel confident that your goals are being met and that you no longer require therapeutic services, bring this up with your therapist. Our goal is to have open dialogue about your progress, and we certainly want to empower you as you consider your next steps.

Cadence

Some clients begin therapy in a difficult season of life or crisis and benefit from regular weekly sessions for several months. As symptoms decrease in frequency and intensity, clients reasonably consider whether weekly appointments are necessary. Ask yourself if you’re interested in ending therapy or would prefer to reduce the cadence of your sessions to bi-weekly. This is a great test run of how you manage without weekly sessions while providing a buffer of semi-regular sessions to check in with your therapist. There’s always room to say you’d like to go back to weekly sessions, as well.

Consider Your Goals (and new ones, too!)

Often, our initial goals in therapy dictate the first portion of the therapeutic journey. This is expected since there’s a reason you decided to start therapy, to begin with! However, I always tell clients that when we start to see progress in certain areas, it is not uncommon to sketch out new topics of discussion or goals that you may not have otherwise been able to attend to. This ability to dive a bit deeper is due to increased emotional and mental bandwidth and the implementation of your new coping skills and strategies!

Therapists want to work themselves out of a job, and our clients’ progress is of utmost importance to us. We also understand that in some seasons of life, the therapeutic space and relationship is more than just about achieving goals and can be the supportive environment one needs to simply be in on a regular basis. We want you to get the most out of your hard work! So, if you feel like your goals and needs might change, let us know, and we’ll be more than happy to explore this with you.

If you’re interested in starting on this therapeutic journey, I’d love to meet you and hear your story. Give us a call about setting up an appointment today!