How Long Does Therapy Last? | Therapy in Austin

This is a recurring question at every one of my workshops, presentations and intro sessions.

And the answer is - it depends. It depends on what you’re seeking therapy for, how long you’ve waited to seek treatment, the approach of the therapist you choose and how much and how hard you are willing to work. It also depends on you level of self-awareness. So really the length of therapy depends on you, the client.

I believe in shorter-term therapy, a few months to a few years (max). I would never kick a client out of therapy but I would definitely wonder if I were doing my job to the best of my ability and if I was the right therapist for you if you saw me weekly for the exact same struggle for 2+ years and nothing had changed. That’s not to say that people can’t and don’t struggle with the same issue for more than two years (that’s actually quite common), but I strongly believe that there should be some forward movement, some change, no mater how small.

I tell my clients that my job is to put myself out of business. My job is to empower you and to provide you with the right skills, tools and techniques so that you can achieve your goals and be in control of your own life.

Therapy with me starts with 50 minutes once a week until you feel like you have a better handle on whatever it is we’re working on. Then we start to space things out to every other week and then to once a month until you are ready and can say, “Minal, I feel great. I know how to find you if I need to and I think I’m ready to end therapy.” Those words are music to my ears. We then assess where you are in relation to your goals, what you’ve accomplished and we schedule our final session. Final sessions are so bittersweet.

I don’t believe in therapy for years upon years (I’m not an analyst), and I don’t believe in keeping you in therapy once you’ve achieved your goals just so that I can have a full caseload or so that I can pay my bills. Therapy is for YOU. And once you’ve decided that you got what you came for, then we’re done, at least for the moment. My door is always open and you can certainly always come back. I’ve actually had lots of clients return. Some to work on big life changes, some for reminders and some just to check in to make sure they’re still on the right path for themselves. The journey of self-discovery is on ongoing on.

So, if therapy starts and ends when you're ready, the next questions is what's stopping you from being ready? (Click here to schedule your free intro session now!)