Why you should continue with therapy – even if you think you’re done. So many people use counseling and therapy to help them deal with their mental health. But, often times, not everyone keeps going. If you’re wondering how long you should stay in counseling – that is completely normal. The answer is different for everyone. Waters Edge Counseling is here to help you decide your individual needs.
Why You Should Continue Therapy
Some start therapy to help with a particularly hard period in their lives. When they think that particular obstacle has been conquered, they stop going. Others might stop because they think counseling is too much of a time commitment. Or possibly it seems too costly. Whatever the reason for not continuing may be, it can actually help to continue seeing your therapist. Even when you feel “solid” about your mental health.
It is actually very helpful to have the support of a mental health professional to help us cope with whatever obstacles life throws at us. This can be related to mental health or not. Sometimes it is just very important to maintain the progress we made originally in therapy.
There are amazing benefits to communicating the goings on of our mind — especially to an objective counselor. Everyone can use the practice.
What if I Feel Emotionally “Ready” to Stop Counseling?
Sometimes, if you feel emotionally ready to discontinue counseling, continuing your relationship with your therapist can be helpful for therapeutic reasons.
Continuing therapy can help you address the origin of patterns that affected the situation in the first place. If you do take a break from counseling but decide to go back, your therapist might not be taking new clients. This could mean you would have to find a new counselor, which can cause additional stress.
Also, when you’re feeling like you’re emotionally “ok,” compared to when you started your counseling, there are still ways to grow. Therapy can help to take advantage of feeling “good” to continue investigating insights about yourself that you can continue using if you start to feel down again.
What if Therapy is No Longer Affordable?
Many people do decide to leave therapy because it isn’t affordable. That is completely valid. If this is the case, there are other, more accessible options that can help you take charge of your mental health. We can suggest alternative ways to further your mental health. There are also opportunities to do half-sessions, lesson the frequency of your visits or see a therapist with a lower rate.
Can I go back to therapy after an absence?
If you ARE thinking about going back to therapy — even if it is just for a quick tune-up session once every month — there is really no better time than the present. Waters Edge Counseling maintains that your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Counseling is just one way to give it the care it needs. If you are at the beginning of your counseling journey, or if you just haven’t been back in a while, please give us a call. We’re here to help.