I think that on the whole it is a good idea to have the limit of length of session. My first T (whom I still have contact with occassionally) is flexible. In the early days when I used to end up getting very upset during sessions she always gave me extra time to get myself together before we finished. My second T (whom I've now finished with) was very, very strict on time. One time I was still in tears and shaking at the end of a session and she still thought it was okay to call time and expect me to get up from the chair without falling over, walk down the stairs without tripping up and get in my car and drive myself home. In the end I just sat in my car for ten minutes listening to the radio until I felt better.

I learnt not to leave bringing up difficult things too far into the sessions.

It does feel a bit unreasonable and cruel at times doesn't it? We wouldn't dream of ushering our friends out the door if they were upset or needed more time would we? But then therapists are working and may have other clients after us so it's not easy. The limit on the time may be more helpful at times than we think.