How Long Does Therapy Take to Work?
One of the first things to think about when exploring therapy is how long you can expect to be in care, or time before you feel better. Understandably, if you’re seeking therapy you may want to understand the cost — not just in money, but also time and energy.
It’s hard to provide a clear answer for how long therapy takes to work, because each person has their own definition of what “work” means in this context. Some people explore therapy to examine a new, challenging issue while others may visit a therapist to address ongoing problems or concerns. In general, at Two Chairs our goal is to help our clients feel relief from what brings them to therapy as quickly as possible so they can feel better in their daily life. Although there are differences from person to person, most of our clients can expect to make progress toward their goals and complete their care within 12-20 sessions of therapy.
It’s important for anyone considering therapy to have an open, collaborative relationship with their therapist in order to understand how long therapy is expected to last, and how to know if it’s helping you get better. At Two Chairs, your therapist will have this conversation with you in your first session, and the two of you will regularly check in on your goals for treatment, progress, and planning. In this way, you’ll be an active participant in your own treatment, with a clear picture of your own goals and progress.
There are many factors to consider when it comes to mapping out the details of your own journey in therapy. Here, we’ll also explore what to look for in order to measure progress and healing.
When will I know therapy is working for me?
This is a question that may pop up not just before seeking treatment, but also while your sessions are ongoing.
Understand your reason for treatment and personal goals
Dr. James Hawkins of Good Medicine says some types of problems will likely need more treatment sessions than others. “In general clients who want help with more severe problems will probably need more treatment sessions to achieve recovery,” states Hawkins. “By more severe, I'm referring to variables like the extent and intensity of symptoms at presentation, how long the problem has been going on for, and how resistant it has proved to previous attempts at therapy. Relevant too is the overall quality of the client's life...so it's not just the severity of the presenting problems that govern speed of response, but also the strengths and resources the client has more generally in other areas of their life.”
Your treatment journey will look different depending on the reason you’ve sought therapy, as well as your day-to-day life and what you’re hoping to gain from therapy sessions. Your therapist should communicate clearly about these expectations, as well as how you’ll be tracking progress. If you're wondering what to talk about in therapy, one thing you can expect to discuss with your therapist is how long you will be in care based on your goals and what you're going through, among other factors.
How to track your progress in therapy
At Two Chairs, we know our clients’ goals are to feel better. To make sure that happens as quickly as possible, we use your feedback to help track progress. This approach is called measurement-based care (MBC). By using MBC, therapists use your input to track your progress and make changes to your treatment, which can lead to better outcomes, faster. MBC also empowers you to take ownership of your care and make sure you’re getting what you need out of therapy.
From the client perspective, MBC appears in the form of mental health check-ins. These are short questionnaires you fill out before your sessions, with questions about how you’re feeling. Mental health check-ins help you communicate with your therapist about how things are going in care for you, including if you’re making progress toward feeling better, and about ups and downs in your relationship with your therapist. Providing honest feedback about the relationship with your therapist is important because the “therapeutic alliance” — the relationship between you and your therapist — is the key to great therapy. When this relationship is strong and collaborative, you’re likely to feel better faster.
Your therapist should help you personalize these tools so that you are both focused on the right information in care that’s relevant to your goals and needs. And, you should expect to discuss the results of your mental health check-ins with your therapist at the start of your sessions, and you should also expect to review your overall progress frequently throughout care to make sure you’re on track.
Individual factors
It’s important to remember that everyone grows, heals, and recovers at different speeds. In addition to speaking with your therapist about what progress should look like for you (such as benchmarks, milestones, etc.), ask your therapist for additional resources to explore more about what you’re going through — like books, podcasts, or studies.
Often during treatment another issue may arise, sometimes different from the original issue you first sought help with — this may alter the course of your treatment, but shouldn’t be seen as a setback. Though if you believe you aren’t progressing as you’d hoped, make sure to speak with your therapist.
In some cases, therapy may not work perfectly for you. When this happens you and your therapist will work together to figure out what the best option will be for your care. This could include taking a break from therapy or looking for another provider or type of treatment that might be a better fit for your needs.
The amount of time needed for therapy to work varies greatly. Factors that have an influence on time needed for therapy to work include personal goals, rate of progress, your specific therapist’s style of treatment, as well as environmental circumstances. Our therapists are committed to helping you feel better and improve your quality of life.
Book your matching appointment to learn how Two Chairs can start helping you today.
