[needsomepeace]

Have been seeing the same Psychiatrist since 2007 and have gone through 3 psychotherapists, the last one very intense about coming to terms of being a survivor of abuse and neglect.

I was forced into going as I had quit speaking. Took 2 months to get my first appointment and over a year to be able to truly trust my Dr. in order to talk about my deepest feelings. I have made a lot of progress but it seems just like yesterday that I began this journey, talking about feelings instead of burying them.

My therapist describes me as an onion with many layers. I suffer from Season Affect Disorder, MDD and GAD. Finally I have grown up a bit but only from the help of this very dedicated professional.

Some information I have read on therapy length, 20 years in analysis ? Finished with therapy in 3 months ? Dr. Marie said 10 years is too long and therapy is not working......This comment has made me very nervous....

[with or without you]

That's just one therapist's opinion. I have been with the same therapist for 10 years this coming August. It takes as long as you need it to. Some people just need to talk to a professional outside of their day-to-day life in order to deal with things. Don't let others' opinions pressure you into thinking you need to rush things, unless you really do want to speed things along. Take care

Who is Dr. Marie and why do we care about her opinion? Sorry. I don't take only one person's word for anything.

I've been in therapy on and off my entire adult life. It has actually been quite helpful each time, but each time in a different way. You see, our needs, our problems, our goals, etc. change as we grow and mature. I have found what I deal with in therapy changes pretty regularly. So, although I have been in therapy for many years, I don't feel like it has been all about the same issues this whole time. I would say that if a person was actually stuck on exactly the same issues without any movement forward after so long, there is probably a problem there, but I doubt that is very often the case.

[with or without you]

Originally Posted by farmergirl

Who is Dr. Marie and why do we care about her opinion? Sorry. I don't take only one person's word for anything.

she's one of the therapists in PC's "Ask the Therapist" section

[BlessedRhiannon]

I used to worry about how long therapy should take...until I realized that it's MY therapy, so it takes as long as it takes, be that 3 months or 10 years. I think a lot depends on what type of therapy you are doing, and why you are seeing a therapist.

I can't imagine therpay only taking 3 months...it took me that long just to consider trusting my T! But, I suppose if you go to a therapist just looking for coaching or skill building and you go in without trust issues, then it's probably totally possible.

Like Farmergirl said, if you're working on the same issue for 10 years, and not making any progress, then I'd question whether what you're doing is actually working. There should be progress made, but there's nothing wrong with it taking a while.

[sunrise]

Originally Posted by farmergirl

Who is Dr. Marie and why do we care about her opinion?

Amen!

Needsomepeace, perhaps don't put so much stock in one person's words? I think there are far better measures of whether therapy is working or not than the length of time. If you are concerned that your therapy is not working, perhaps talk to your T about it? Maybe it would lead to some good changes?

BTW, welcome to PsychCentral!

[PreacherHeckler]

Therapists often have different beliefs and biases due to their theoretical orientation. A behavioral therapist just wants to fix you and get it over with, whereas a psychodynamic/analytic therapist wants to take the time to get to the often unconscious root of the problem.
Every time I was in short-term therapy I "got better" quickly but ended up needing therapy again because the gains I made never lasted. That's because my issues had much more to do with very old patterns of behavior, and short-term behavioral approaches only worked until the unconscious patterns were triggered. Finally, after many, many attempts at short and moderate lengths of time in therapy, I started long-term treatment with a psychodynamic therapist. Been with him 10 years. It took me almost 9 years to trust him and stop trying to control him. And that's why short-term therapy never worked well for me, because we never uncovered the huge issues I had with trust and with relationships in general. Now, finally, my progress is steady, and regressions are easily corrected because I understand where the problems were coming from.
So don't worry about one therapist's opinion. She doesn't know you or your difficulties.

[needsomepeace]

Thank you all for your re-assurance....My T has supported me and moved with the changes, almost like he is doing damage control. He makes me talk about things I like to push under the rug. I have severe trust issues....yes. Once again thank you, I am not alone in my experiences and there are people here who really understand about low self-esteem.

Originally Posted by BlessedRhiannon

I used to worry about how long therapy should take...until I realized that it's MY therapy, so it takes as long as it takes, be that 3 months or 10 years. I think a lot depends on what type of therapy you are doing, and why you are seeing a therapist.

I can't imagine therpay only taking 3 months...it took me that long just to consider trusting my T! But, I suppose if you go to a therapist just looking for coaching or skill building and you go in without trust issues, then it's probably totally possible.

Like Farmergirl said, if you're working on the same issue for 10 years, and not making any progress, then I'd question whether what you're doing is actually working. There should be progress made, but there's nothing wrong with it taking a while.

[PTSDlovemycats]

I think that whatever works for you is best. If it takes 10yrs than so be it. I have been going for 8yrs now.

[jexa]

That is totally about Dr. Marie's orientation. Like farmergirl said, 10 years of working on the exact same issue probably means therapy isn't working. But 10 years of fluid growth and change and working on deeper issues, IMO, is totally fine.

Like others have said about themselves, I plan on being in T off and on for the rest of my life, whenever I think it will be helpful and I can afford it. I have a dysfunctional history to overcome here, so when I make major life changes, I need some support so that I don't re-enact my dysfunction when I start a family, decide on lifelong relationships, or go through any other adjustment periods.

Any T worth her salt would be cool with that I would think.

[Indie'sOK]

When I read that a common duration for CBT is 15-25 sessions, once a week, I'm like ... However long it needs to take, so be it. My T asked me how long I'd like to see her...I said I'd like to keep it open-ended because I hate feeling like I've got a limit to my therapy.

[jexa]

Originally Posted by Indie'sOK

When I read that a common duration for CBT is 15-25 sessions, once a week, I'm like ... However long it needs to take, so be it. My T asked me how long I'd like to see her...I said I'd like to keep it open-ended because I hate feeling like I've got a limit to my therapy.

Those of us who are here on PC are a self-selecting group. I think most of us here come for support because we are in need of expressing more of our thoughts and feelings than most people and maybe a lot of us get very triggered by therapy and need a place to process that. I think a lot of us are sensitive souls who struggle with deep, complex emotional processing difficulties.

Other people might go to CBT with a pretty basic problem that can be resolved in a few months. Like someone with a fear of flying, who is not wanting to work on anything else in therapy, can get really quick treatment for the fear in therapy and then doesn't need any other help. So their treatment could be just a few sessions. Some people with OCD (and I have seen this in person) can be totally free of OCD symptoms after like, 10-12 sessions. It's amazing, CBT really can work that quickly for some folks.

When you have complex problems, childhood trauma, a dysfunctional family, multiple diagnoses, things like that -- treatment is just going to take longer. Your ability to even solve a problem and face emotions might be completely disrupted by your history. And I think a lot of us on PC are in that group. When they say CBT can work that quickly, they are usually talking about people with relatively straightforward difficulties.

[ECHOES]

Who is Dr. Marie and why do we care about her opinion?

I second this.

We are individual and complex beings. Therapy is personal and is at our own pace.
Thankfully!

[Indie'sOK]

Originally Posted by jexa

Those of us who are here on PC are a self-selecting group. I think most of us here come for support because we are in need of expressing more of our thoughts and feelings than most people and maybe a lot of us get very triggered by therapy and need a place to process that. I think a lot of us are sensitive souls who struggle with deep, complex emotional processing difficulties.

Other people might go to CBT with a pretty basic problem that can be resolved in a few months. Like someone with a fear of flying, who is not wanting to work on anything else in therapy, can get really quick treatment for the fear in therapy and then doesn't need any other help. So their treatment could be just a few sessions. Some people with OCD (and I have seen this in person) can be totally free of OCD symptoms after like, 10-12 sessions. It's amazing, CBT really can work that quickly for some folks.

When you have complex problems, childhood trauma, a dysfunctional family, multiple diagnoses, things like that -- treatment is just going to take longer. Your ability to even solve a problem and face emotions might be completely disrupted by your history. And I think a lot of us on PC are in that group. When they say CBT can work that quickly, they are usually talking about people with relatively straightforward difficulties.

Exactly why it's so important to not follow this as a guideline for a number of sessions. When I say I have anxiety, for example, that is probably something that could be treated with short-term therapy. Add this to depression, self-esteem issues, and a boatload of transference and resistance, however, and it becomes much more complex. I wish I could work with a different approach other than CBT - the idea of such short-term therapy does not sit well with me at this point.

[Butterflies Are Free]

I found my therapist through a support group I attended back in 1996 and have been in therapy with her for over 10 years. I have made slow but amazing progress and agree with all of the other posts - everyone needs to take his/her own time and do what is best for them. Good luck!
Steph

[Suratji]

I am sure my T has put no time limit on therapy for me. I think any termination will be a happily mutually agreed upon decision. I've been in therapy for over 6 months and although I had the hilarious assumption that I could be finished in 2 or 3 sessions, I now know that I'll be seeing her for many more months - and I'm content with that.

[cmac13]

I have been with my therapist for almost 20 years. She has helped me to "grow-up". It has been a long slow process. Short term therapy just would not ever work for me. way too many traumatic childhood issues. She has assures me that I am in charge of my therapy and I can be with her for as long as I need to. As long as I feel it is beneficial to me I will continue my relationship with her. There are some issues I STILL continue to struggle with but there are other issues that no longer impact my life like they used to. So to say therapy is not working if you are in there for ten years is BS.

[Daisymay]

I agree with all the above comments. Long term (life long?) therapy is not about dealing with just one issue. If you want and need support with different aspects of life when they happen so that you aim to get the most out of life then why not.

There is another point too. Some people have very diffiucult lives. My sister has a learning disability aswell as mental health problems - she needs ongoing support and that comes best from her therapist who knows her very well. I know that for a lot of people therapy is about learning coping strategies and gaining enough insight into yourself so that you can then use those strategies without therapy ie be your own therapist. For many that does work, but others may benefit most from ongoing support and I think are entitled to have it without being made to feel they shouldn't.

[dizgirl2011]

Hey,

I don't actually know who Dr.Marie is as I don't live in the USA but as other people said, that is just her opinion. You will always find Therapists with different views on how therapy should be conducted and how long it should last. I would love a therapists to stay with me even for a couple of years, I seem to loose my support after a year approx which hasn't been helpful because it reinforces feelings of abandonment and lack of trust in others. Different forms of therapy work for different people. You just have to do what is right for you and try to find a therapist who agrees with your ideals about therapy.