Blog 1 (Part 6 of 8): What to expect during therapy and when therapy ends

You are in the driver’s seat!

In the mid-stages of therapy, you will be invited to speak openly about what you are going through, but the content of sessions will be unique to you.  Everyone’s therapy journey looks different.  I like to use the “driving a car” analogy when describing your journey through therapy - you are in the driver’s seat and the Psychologist is in the passenger seat.  You can speed things up by pressing down on the accelerator or slow therapy down by putting the brakes on whenever you want to.  A good Psychologist will regularly check in with you about progress being made and will seek feedback about how you feel therapy is going.  Be honest and let your Psychologist know if you are feeling overwhelmed and want to slow things down or if you are feeling impatient and want to be doing more within sessions, or challenging yourself more outside of sessions.  We are here to work with you on these things, so before you think about giving up, have this discussion with your Psychologist first.

Therapy is not just talking

Many people think therapy is just talking through things.  In psychological therapy though, you will gain powerful new understandings, and learn useful strategies, skills and techniques to use in the real world.  Your Psychologist will encourage you to consolidate the new skills and apply these coping strategies to your day-to-day life.  

You may be set tasks in between sessions, which are designed to help facilitate change and lead to recovery.  Some clients also like writing down their thoughts and feelings, alongside any difficulties that arise between sessions, to allow them to talk about it with their Psychologist at the next appointment.

Feel free to take notes in the session about helpful techniques, reflections and “lightbulb moments” you may have.  Don’t be afraid to ask your Psychologist to even explain concepts again, and if you are doing therapy online, then the beauty about these sessions is you can record them and watch them back.

Therapy isn’t over when the session is over

Most of the work happens between therapy sessions, therefore therapy is not over when the session is over.  As a therapy session is only 50-60 minutes per week, the real work has to happen in the time between sessions – where the problems are occurring, when we are living our lives, e.g. you may challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone, you may think and reflect on things in between sessions, you may write things down and you may record things that happen along with related emotions and thoughts. Ultimately, the more time you spend outside your comfort zone, the bigger your comfort zone gets and the less scary your world may feel.

As Psychologists, we are committed to continuing our own development in psychology and are required by our professional body to maintain and expand our knowledge to best serve our clients.  Therefore, although you may only see your Psychologist for one hour per week, we are still working behind the scenes.  In between sessions, we may be reading up about the things you are struggling with to ensure we can best support you.  So next time you are on holiday or can’t make a session, your Psychologist is still holding you in mind and continues to hold your struggles with you.

How frequent are sessions / how long does therapy last?

There is no quick fix to resolving our emotional difficulties and therapy does often need time; sometimes weeks or months.  It varies from person to person.  Sessions are usually weekly at the beginning of therapy in order to build up momentum and build trust within the therapeutic relationship.  Small gains at the beginning of therapy can lead to higher motivation to engage with the rest of therapy.  Towards the end of therapy, some clients like to space sessions out from weekly to fortnightly or monthly to prove to themselves they can cope without regular therapy sessions.  We encourage this – at the end of the day, the goal is to get the client to become their own therapist.  Therapy is not meant to be ‘forever’.  Some people make significant gains within eight weeks, whilst others need deeper work, sometimes needing as many as 20-40 sessions.  It all depends on your specific needs and preferences.

What happens at the end of therapy and what if I need help further down the line?

Although therapy has ended, it doesn’t mean we forget about our clients.  I often think about how my clients are doing months and even years after therapy has ended.  The door is always open if you ever need to come back or need “top-up” sessions.  Some clients come back to therapy further down the line if they have reached a bump in the road.  Other clients like to have follow-up appointments booked for the future, e.g. they may book in a therapy session every 2-3 months, to ensure they are checking in with their mental health and maintaining their wellness. 

Join the dots:

(1) You are the driver of your own therapy sessions! Be honest with your Psychologist if you want to speed up or slow down.

(2) The more you do between sessions, the more you will get out of therapy - it is more than just “talking” - you gotta do your homework, and the Psychologist is doing theirs too!

(3) The aim of therapy is getting you to become your own Therapist, but the door is always open if you need a mental health “MOT”.

So now you know what happens during therapy, how can you make sure you make the most of therapy sessions?  …See Blog 1, Part 7,