By Amanda Brown
Wondering if you should continue therapy?
First of all, congratulations. You’ve taken the courageous and often challenging first step of starting psychological therapy. Recognising the need for support and getting started is no small feat.
Maybe you’ve made some progress and are wondering if its worthwhile to continue with therapy. Maybe you’re not seeing the gains you expected, and are wondering if therapy is working. Or perhaps you’ve used up your ten rebated Medicare sessions and have found yourself thinking: what’s next? Can I – or should I – continue with therapy?
Just like you, every person’s therapy journey is unique. While the answers I will give here are general in nature, it’s always best to consider your own circumstances. Therapy works best when it is a collaborative process. So, before proceeding with the article, I preface with this: speak to your psychologist about your feelings towards therapy. This includes your expectations for change, your queries about continuing therapy, and anything else on your mind – including what is working and not working for you. This lets your therapist know where you’re at and provides both of you with an opportuity to explore the answers together.
So, with that in mind, let’s review some common questions and scenarios that lead people to ask: should I continue therapy?
Moved beyond crisis?
While therapy is useful for helping during major life transitions or challenges, people often only commence it when they feel at breaking point. After a couple of sessions, you may begin to feel better; perhaps the acute reasons you started therapy have had time to settle.
Therapeutic support is there for you if you need it in a crisis. However, opportunities for deeper work begins once the dust has settled. Think of psychological therapy or counselling like treatment for a physical injury. Initially, you attended physiotherapy and they prescribe rest, ice, and anti-inflammatories. Once the acute pain has subsided, they ask you to get to work on strengthening the area. Therapy beyond crisis allows for greater self-reflection and awareness, and opportunities to address personal vulnerabilities or build resilience to strengthen you against a potential recurrence. You will be able to work on the reasons that issue impacted you, or address underlying patterns that may be affecting the quality of your life.
Stopping therapy just as you being to feel better may lead to a risk of reoccurrence, as research suggests that better outcomes in therapy are obtained by patients who engage in more therapy.
Not progressing as expected?
Expectations for change or non-change have a strong influence on the effectiveness of treatment, and play an important role in treatment outcomes across a range of conditions. Recovery or improvement in mental health is non-linear, with real ‘felt’ change being a product of the culmination of many subtle shifts. While you should start to notice some improvements from therapy, it’s not common that a person experiences drastic shifts in behaviour and thinking, as these changes take time. Think of these small shifts like a spoon stirring a pot of water. Initially, there may be some resistance, and there is effort to get started. With continued stirring, the water gets moving and may move on its own. Therapy is much the same. It’s these small incremental and subtle changes that build momentum over time.
I’ve used my free or rebated sessions, now what?!
Many of us are fortunate enough to have access to rebated sessions through Medicare or even free EAP sessions paid for by our employers. Generally, these programs offer access to care that focuses on immediate needs; in other words, the programs offer short-term therapy. While you may acknowledge the benefits in continuing therapy, the reality of paying for therapy is very different. Rather than stopping completely, speak with your therapist about what’s realistic, so that you may continue working towards your goals. This may look like changing session regularity to fortnightly or monthly sessions; using groups or augment therapy in other ways; or planning for a period of focused, more in-depth work when your rebated sessions renew.
To conclude: while you may be Googling “should I continue with therapy?”, the first thing you need to consider is your own needs. Talk with your therapist as they will be able to work with you to help you achieve your goals and make the necessary adjustments along the way. Lastly, remember that therapy is a journey, not a linear path – and that talking about the therapy can, on occasion, be just as useful as doing the therapy.
