How do you know when therapy is working?
You have been going to therapy for several weeks, and you wonder if it’s working. You feel comfortable with your therapist and you are able to open up for the hour you are together and you feel that the hour is productive. You leave your session feeling heard, validated, and with some tools to practice at home.
But what about the other roughly 115 hours in your week?
How do you know therapy is working? Can this be measured? Probably only by you. After all, you are the only person that matters in the process. The therapist is the conduit of your healing.
You continue to go to therapy each week, and sessions are still productive. However, you have not experienced the cathartic moment that you were hoping for, and life is still challenging.
Bad news. You might not experience the cathartic moment. Good News: you don’t have to have the cathartic moment to feel and see be benefits of therapy.
In most cases, therapy is a slow, incremental process of self-understanding, self-inquiry and insight into your own motivation in behavior. It is figuring out the “why” and the “what” of yourself. While we all want to quick fix, there is no time table to feel better. It is a brave and vulnerable process, and the process must be trusted.
Here are some signs of the slow incremental process that may indicate that therapy is working:
You are trying out new behaviors
You might not be as reactive
You might be more patient
You are move motivated to complete your goals
You are not as critical of yourself and others
You have less anxiety about the present and the future
In between the time you see your therapist take note of your moods and behavior. Get feedback from the people in your life. Your therapist will want to know what your daily life is like, even if you are working on past trauma. In between sessions, you can write these feelings in a journal or take note of your moods each day.
You are the only person that matters in the process.
You might want to ask yourself:
What have I done differently over the past week?
· What is working for me?
· Have I been gentler with myself when I make mistakes?
· Am I more motivated?
Give us a call. We have therapists that are ready to help you with all of the hours in your life.
We offer individual therapy, couples therapy, and children’s & teen’s therapy in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. We also offer teletherapy and consulting.