Therapy for Life

I had a therapist once tell me that I may therapy for the rest of my life - on and off. Do you think that could be true for anyone?

Supportive therapy can be a lifelong thing for people with chronic, disabling illnesses.

Lots of people are in therapy to be healed. But for some people, "healing" is not a realistic goal. Maybe the goal is just make it to another day, and therapy helps them with this.

My T mentioned once that he has had a patient for almost 20 years on and off. Also, we had a conversation once about me not getting any better and just said, well how long can therapy really last.. and he said he had at least another 20 years left I may in there for life, and I think that is ok!

Well, my current therapist is getting up there in age. I don't want to go through his death if I'm still in therapy with him.

To me, it would make sense that one could be in therapy off and on for their whole lives. It's just another way to try to keep yourself healthy, like seeing a regular doctor.

I've seen Ts off and on for 15 years or so. I don't want to quit ever, but I'll probably have to cut done and see my t less often than weekly at some point. I don't see what's wrong with it if you can afford it and feel like you need it, unless your T doesn't think it's beneficial anymore.

As much as I don't want to be I think I'm a lifer. I don't think I'll have to go more than 2-4 x a month. My T keeps an eye on my sleeping patterns, eating patterns, med compliance, moods, my interact-ability, consequences and thought patterns. T also helps me process the last 10-14 days. I have things that I am working on. After a year and a half with current T I'm just starting to trust her.

Had that scare, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone .

But I will say it was an ultimately positive experience in the therapy. I know that sounds strange. Thankfully, he came through his surgery and rehab successfully. But it necessitated a lengthy break and ultimate retirement. Working through those fears together was very positively powerful. And it opened the door to normalizing our relationship.

Now, 15 yrs post-therapy, because we're in frequent contact, it's likely that I will face his death someday. I hope not for a long time! But I am learning from his example everyday how to navigate such pain.

I have a sibling who's been in therapy for almost 25 years. As far as I know, there's no plan to even think about termination. I'm pretty sure that my sibling put the T's kids through private school with the fees that were paid.

I don't plan to be in therapy anywhere near as long, but who knows?

I would have never predicted it, or wanted it, but I suspect I might be a lifer.

I don't know though.

I feel so much better is so many ways, but others - well, those others might just be life wounds.

I would not have chosen that for myself. Sometimes I wonder if that is exactly what I am doing.

I would like to stay with my current T indefinitely. I don't view termination as a goal. I don't suffer from a mental illness, I simply enjoy the discussion and support T provides. Seeing her gives me a safe space, maternal nurturing, and a vote of confidence that helps me in my RL. So, for me, I see no reason to stop therapy.

haha i sometimes joke because my t goes on vacation a lot, how many of those were paid for by me haha

And i think as long as therapy is benefiting you, there is no reason to stop it...

definitely a lifer... i have been known to take a few months off here and there, but eventually my depression will rear its ugly head, and then without support my light goes out, and down i go. and seemingly fast.

gotta stay in therapy, or at least have a check up every few months.

I was reading a list of therapist slang terms and came across the term "handholder". It was defined as the client who is content to keep showing up and discussing their unchanging situation over and over. That is my worst nightmare. As long as I am still working, I am willing to go to therapy.

I don't think there is a 'quick fix' for my issues. Even if I manage to work through what I need to, I think I would still benefit from the support that a therapist can provide... so, even if it's less regular visits, or by means of going in for a 'tune up' or help with issues that come up, I think I will be a 'lifer' too. I don't see me ever being 'done' with therapy.

I think it's really difficult to leave in some circumstances. Some conditions probably do benefit from life-long monitoring or support. Or those who experience growth beyond the problems that brought them to therapy decide they want to explore further. If it weren't so expensive, and I was in a position to do the latter, I probably would. But I guess that would be more of a want rather than a need.

But at this point I think I'd only be interested in psychoanalytic work, and that's both hard to find and expensive.

My t has said that I may always need some sort of therapist support, but that it may depend upon whether or not I'm able to form other close relationships in my life that can meet some of my needs.

I find that therapy is the only place where I can discuss certain things, which are not really appropriate in a social context with a friend. I made the mistake of trying to turn a friend into a t, and it ended disastrously. So as long as I feel the need to work on/discuss/work through certain things that I can't talk to friends about, I feel like i will need therapy.

I would find that hard to endure also. I think as long as I am growing and changing, I am willing to go to therapy, but if I was just discussing the same situation over and over, I think I would quit. I would have gotten all I could from therapy.

As much as I adore my therapist, the thought of being in therapy for the rest of my life has me almost screaming in panic inside my head. My T said he anticipated 6-10 years of therapy for someone to recover from severe trauma. Even him just talking about me being in therapy that long had me cursing at him.

I don't want support or monitoring, and I definitely don't want anything remotely maternal or paternal. I want his help in addressing my poor coping skills and in improving my ability to take care of myself. Once I have gotten myself under control, I want OUT. Suddenly realized that issue may be, in and of itself, a therapeutic issues. LOL.

I don't know how long it will take for me to recover, or get better or whatever I am trying to accomplish in therapy...I'm not even sure what "Better" means from one moment to the next. I'm going to take it one session at a time. I'm not going anywhere and my T is younger then me.

I was told that I need long term therapy but I am not sure if this means life, I only have 2 sessions left with my current T and I am very sad that it is ending.

Not so sure if I can do therapy again.

I find it interesting that your T would give you any kind of timeline for therapy. It kind of seems like a setup in a way. I mean, I understand the notion of "prognosis" and wanting to give a framework for understanding treatment, but I think I'd really struggle hearing 6-10 years!

That said, I've been in therapy for 5 years now, and I keep wavering about whether I see an ending point. I've been told in the past that I might need to be on medication for the rest of my life, but not therapy. I think it certainly helps to keep me on track, but honestly, it sometimes feels like it causes more problems than it solves. (Not that I expect therapy to solve my problems, *I* need to solve my problems, and, well, you know what I mean.)

LL, I had spent a considerable amount of time griping about how very, very long it was taking me to get "done" with therapy. I have been in therapy about 2 1/2 years. He was trying to reassure me it was not taking me "too long."

Ah, gotcha. The end of therapy definitely seems like a moving target to me sometimes.

Many Ts (mine included) are of the opinion that therapy should always have an end. They are absolutely opposed to the idea of life-long therapy... Of course, my T wouldn't terminate someone before his time, but on the other hand he insists that, from a point onward, therapy functions as a safety blanket that hinders the person's further growth and that the real changes come after the termination of therapy and are life-long, if one is determined to fight for them... He has had people coming to therapy for 10 years, but it is rare... The issue of my T turning into a safety blanket is constantly on my mind. I know I haven't worked through my issues yet, since I'm still depressed, but it's a fine line between constructive therapy and staying in your comfort zone...