How long does psychotherapy last?

Psychotherapy can last a short time to heal something specific.

It can last a lifetime, depending on the patient's desires and background.

Quá trình trị liệu tâm lý kéo dài bao lâu?

I'm going to tell you about my therapy journey, which is still ongoing.

I first saw a therapist when I was 25, to take an overview of my history and heal some deep wounds from my childhood. This first sequence lasted around fifteen sessions.

For a few years, I “worked” on myself on my own, using what I'd worked on with that first therapist.

At the age of 30, I had the opportunity to meet my father for the first time, and I returned to therapy to deal with this event.

Then, as I moved through the various stages of my life, I was confronted with old wounds that surfaced, and returned to therapy when necessary.

All this to say that I started therapy 25 years ago and it's not over yet.

Life regularly brings us new experiences, which, depending on our history, will resonate more or less, revealing darker areas. That's why psychotherapy can't be done all at once.

Becoming a parent will stir up things from our childhood, a separation or divorce can make us more vulnerable, the loss of a job, the death of a relative or friend. All these events that we can't anticipate can potentially reawaken wounds that were previously dormant.

I don't like to compare objects with humans, but I'll use this metaphor to make things clearer.

If I've had a car since birth and have to keep it until I die, chances are it's going to get damaged over the years. There will be small breakdowns that I can fix myself, and some where I'll need a professional, as I'm not a mechanic myself.

Fortunately, these breakdowns won't all happen at the same time.

If I don't go and see the professional when I hear suspicious noises or see alarms on the dashboard, the problem is likely to get worse. The longer I wait, the worse it gets.

The same applies to us as human beings.

Accordingly, the majority of my patients come between a few sessions, five or six, to sort out something very specific, and a fifteen or so sessions to work on more in-depth things.

I also have patients I work with on a longer-term basis when they need to revisit deeper issues.

If I listen to myself and take care of what needs to be taken care of on a regular basis, the problems I have to deal with will be less serious and my life will be more peaceful.