Despite a societal belief that therapy is something people go to for a few months and get their proverbial ducks in a row and move on, this isn’t always the case. While this works for some, for many, the deepest level of change occurs well after those initial sessions, years in, and the longer-cultivated therapeutic relationships help foster that change. Yet, when mental health treatment operates under the notion that there’s an endpoint, or at least a relative ending, this ignores human development cycles of causality.
How Short-Term Therapeutic Benefits
Short-term therapy (six to twenty sessions) is helpful. It’s structured, goal-oriented and works best for situationally based needs where a person isn’t completely feeling the effects of the situation. For example, someone may need short-term therapy in response to a life transition, giving them the supports they need to get through such a change, or they may find themselves needing tools for anxiety as they face a stressor at work. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of these short-term therapy approaches with great support in helping people combat specific phobias and anxiety disorders.
But short-term therapy works with needs more straightforward; when someone has deep-rooted problems, feelings of shame that negatively impact almost every aspect of their lives or relationships that echo the same dysfunctional patterns every time, they need more time. They need someone who knows their triggers and backstories to help integrate those coping mechanisms into their way of life consistently over time.
Working with a therapist in Colorado who offers longer-term support gives clients the space to do exactly that, not just identify patterns but genuinely dismantle them at a pace that sticks.
Why It’s Not Easy
Psychological change isn’t always linear. Someone doesn’t walk into the therapist’s office, have a session and walk out never having to think about that issue again. It’s more like peeling an onion; you uncover something, only to find something underneath that, and so on and so forth.
However, with limited time with a therapist, there’s less opportunity for that transformation because there isn’t enough time or rapport to cultivate such findings along the way. Furthermore, new issues develop as life goes on. Someone might be zipping along in therapy only to have a job loss or relationship spiral or family diagnosis derail all that’s been accomplished, but longer-term therapists are prepared for this because they know someone’s history.
Unfortunately, a therapist working with someone over time can use the therapeutic relationship as a working model for how trust and communication work, which is why it needs time to develop. Any rupture that would otherwise call for ending therapy can ultimately propel treatment forward with ease because of time spent cultivating that relationship in the first place.
Why It’s Ultimately Better For Everyone
Research proves the therapeutic relationship ranks as one of the strongest predictors of positive therapeutic outcome, more than any technique or approach, and thus, over time through rapport-building, not much happens during the first few sessions besides safety establishment, communicative connection and foundational work.
All too often people drop out of therapy when things get hard, essentially missing out on what’s most meaningful because they’re unwilling to tolerate their discomfort for an extended period of time. Yet those in long-term therapy work through these issues for the long-game with no foreseeable ending necessarily in mind, merely an expansion of understanding.
People worry that long-term therapy fosters dependence upon one’s therapist; however, this is never the goal of good therapy. Good therapy promotes autonomy, so while it may take two years of therapeutic comfort zone intervention to remap one’s identity and relational approaches, some people do so in this population of time where others learn with different episodes in life for continued progress without treating their return as failure for not having “finished.”
Getting What You Need
The fact remains that not everyone needs long-term therapy. Not everyone needs short-term therapy either. The goal is to be forthcoming with one’s therapist about what’s truly going on, not just what’s presenting, so together they can make a mutual decision about what makes most sense.
However, too often there’s stigma surrounding mental health care that encourages rapid response and return to normalcy when instead, it’s sometimes slow-paced development without arbitrary deadlines that provide the most beneficial results. Things that last rarely happen quickly; long-term therapy anticipates this and structures accordingly.
The owners and authors of Cinnamon Hollow are not doctors and this is in no way intended to be used as medical advice. We cannot be held responsible for your results. As with any product, service or supplement, use at your own risk. Always do your own research and consult with your personal physician before using.
