[PTSDlovemycats]

Hi everyone, I have question. At what point do you know when to end therapy? How do you go about telling your T that you want to end therapy?? I think that I am at that point right now but I am unsure. Any responses will be appreciated,
thanks. Cats.

[racee]

The time to end therapy is when you are thinking "i think it's time to end therapy" The great part of it is if your an adult and not ordered to go then we want to go we want the help, and we cheerish the time we get and wish our sessions would last longer at times.
No one can tell you if you are at that point not even a therapist he/she can only sense things but they are not in our head. they give us tool to use, so we can use them ourselves. if you love/like your therapist, this doesn't have to be the end! i'm sure there will be obstacles in life and things pop up where maybe eveeryonce in awhile you would need an appointment to get back on track. but a therapisst or any professional goals ar to give you the tools so you can cope on your own.

granted some people need to be in therapy their whole lives and some people think they are done when they are not, but i think than we are going into what you are diagnosed with, i as example will always be in therapy, i have been since i was around 9 years old now i'm in my late 20's but that is ok with me.

tell them exactly what your thinking it doesn't have to be anything special and it's not like you may never see them again, your t should be elated that you are at this point.

[PTSDlovemycats]

hmmm. thanks for your reply. I am still not sure if i am ready or not. I have been in therapy for almost 11yrs. I have been with my current psychiatrist for over 7yrs now. I have been diagnosed with PTSD and disordered eating. I just don't know if i am ready to go at it alone yet...

[mixedup_emotions]

Can you share more about why you feel you may be ready to end therapy? I find at times that I want to end therapy because I'm coming across some tough things that I don't want to face....that may not be the case for you. If you're having doubts, then it would be worthwhile to talk to your therapist about this so you can explore it further. Also, you can try stretching your sessions by longer periods to see how you do.

[Omers]

I have been in therapy for 15 years (aaak). At first it was because I was being abused as a child at home but they could not prove it and I backed my parents... Once I was away from the abuse therapy was for the PTSD. I no longer have enough symptoms of PTSD nor does it impact my life enough to warent still having that one. But then there was still the depression but we have now come to the conclusion that the depression is chemical and I have all the coping skills I need it is just continuing to manage meds... There really is no treatment for the Aspergers available given my level of functioning. So... I am in a place to be "done" with therapy.
For now I have chosen to stay in therapy. Had I been using insurance it would no longer be billable but I pay out of pocket. Anyway... I am still not the person I want to be. My T has skills to help me just do much of that self improvement and that is what we are doing. Honestly it's kinda fun. I am working on a level beyond "DSM" and labels... cuz I want to and I can darn it! My T is also credentialed to do Spiritual Direction and tht is something I really want right now too... But I don't need any of it and none of it could ethically be billed to insurance.

But... think about your goals in therapy, have you reached them? how are the symptoms of what ever you went into therapy for? are they well managed (don't need to be perfect, some things never go away)? I would definatly talk to your T about it. Many gradually fade therapy... once a week, every other week, once a month.... But if you are done, you are done... done can however mean "done for now". Life is nuts and some time things come back up or new thing happen and we can go back. My T works very hard to whenever possible take people back on when they need to come back. She feels you have made a huge emotional, financial and time commitment to have worked with her to get to the level of understanding she has of you... She believes it would not be right, if she has the skills you need, to not continue your work together even several years later. So, I know if we do stop, provided she is still working (and she isn't in a mood when she calls me back) we can start together again. You don't pick up right where you left things as you and T have changed but it isn't starting over either.

OK just being a wise ***** here... I guess it depends... Is your avitar doing the happy dance or is it an excersized based eating disorder? Poor thing hasn't taken a break in the almost 2 months I have been here!

[WePow]

Here is something that may help:
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archive...o-end-therapy/

[Perna]

Usually the person and their T discuss it, talk it through to find out how you're doing, if you are ready, set a date to work toward, etc., it's just another part of the therapy, doesn't have anything to do necessarily with amount of time one has been in therapy.