[Suraya]

I'm curious how long you've been with your T? How long have you been in therapy?

I've been with mine four years and she made a comment that maybe she can't help me anymore. I've been thinking that maybe four years is too long to be in therapy. After all, insurance only allows 30 sessions.

[Victoria'smom]

Current T 2 months
previous T 3 yrs
T before that 4 months
T before that 2 yrs
T before that 2 years

So I've been in therapy a grand total of 7 1/2 years. I would have loved to bring my last T here but I couldn't.

I have been with my current T I guess 10 years on and off(not sure -- I stopped counting), but I haven't been in active therapy with him for nearly a year. We touch base, but regular therapy isn't really needed at this point.

The other two T's I worked with long term were for about 3 years, and they only ended because of job moves, etc.

[rainbow8]

Almost 5 years with my current T.
About 6 years with previous T.
3 years each with two others.
2 years with another one.

Do you think you're ready to stop therapy? It's not something we can generalize because we each have different needs and different histories.

[Xenon]

10-11 months now, I guess. The "how long" thing is something I try not to think about. I don't know how one is supposed to make that decision. I certainly wouldn't make it on the basis of how long insurance will cover it, though.

[NowhereUSA]

Six years. I've heard that it's not necessarily effective to be with one T for too long, but because of my history with frequent moves and frequently terminating relationships after a few years (because I had to), it's taken this long for me to get attached enough for me to be irritated :-/

Up until this year, I would have been fine just to stop seeing him and been like, "Whelp, that's life..." and then through this last year I realized I would be very sad to leave him and it's been a very, very, very long time since I've felt that since I learned not to attach myself

[ScarletPimpernel]

I've been in therapy off and on for 19 years.

Current T: 15 months (age 31)
T7: 2 years (age 22)
T6: 7 months (age 22)
T5: 4 years (age 18)
T4: 2 weeks (age 18)
T3: 2 months (age 14)
T2: Few months (age 13)
T1: Few months (age 13)

Current T, T5, and T3 are all good Ts. T1, I don't remember her. The rest were bad Ts for me.

[Soccer mom]

I've seen mine as needed for 5 years (maybe 2-4 times a year) and weekly since April when my mom was sick. She tells me I'm trying to rush through therapy and to realize it's going to take while but also can't tell me how long.

[brillskep]

I've been with my therapist for almost five years now ... well, four years and a half of individual therapy and a three-month-long therapy group with him and his colleague before that. During this time I have also seen other therapists and been to other groups.

[Petra5ed]

T1: Months
T2: 1 visit
T3: 1 visit
T4: 1 visit
T5: Irregularly over months
Current T: 1 yr 11 months.

[junkDNA]

i saw my first T after my dad died when i was 10 that lasted like 2 days. cuz i hated it.

i saw another T for 7 yrs but it became sexually abusive and i left him and reported him.

ive been with my current T over 4 yrs

[Suraya]

I don't think I'm ready to be done with therapy. In fact, I was just starting to really trust and attach to T and her comment threw me off guard. Now I'm perplexed at what she's really thinking. I don't think I could start over with someone new and go through all of this again.

[gayleggg]

I've been been with my current therapist for two years. I've been in therapy on and off for 25 years.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[tealBumblebee]

When I was a youth, I saw the therapist I think 1-2 x a week for a few months before my mother (who paid out of pocket) decided she was done paying for it.

This T, I've been seeing weekly for 18 months (feels longer) and I plan to keep her forever (or until she retires) but I do suspect that after maybe another year, I likely will be seeing her a lot less as we've been making a lot of progress even as she goes at my own pace.

[Ellahmae]

I've been in therapy for 4 months & only have had one T (so lucky to find such a great T first off the bat) I just hope she'll be able to grow with me and I think she will.

[nervous puppy]

T1: many many moons ago in college (1979) - 3 mos
T2: 1 yr later - 3 sessions
T3: 2002 thru 2014 every 2 to 4 wks
T4: currently every 7 to 10 days

Maybe your T is starting to think she's not doing you much good anymore? You need to talk about this with her and tell her how you feel. Explain what it is that helps you or doesn't help you.
One of the really cool things my new T keeps saying is that I'm the one in control of what we do in therapy - as far as topics to cover and how often I need or want to see her.

[healed84]

3 years in therapy with the same t... Not thinking therapy will end anytime soon, nor will I be switching t's.

[harvest moon]

He is my first T and I've been with him for a little more than 5 years.

[precaryous]

PrevT 5-6 years. 1994-2000
13 years of no therapy
CurrentT 1 year 2014-present

I've had at least 25 mental health professional since 1973. Never with any more than a couple of years.

T1: about half of one appointment (I walked out because he was a dickweed)
T2: 6 months or so (no connection and I could never talk to her so I did the fade away)
Current T: 3.25 years so far

[pbutton]

Two and a half years. It will be 3 years in July.

I saw a therapist in college for about a year. I can't really remember much about him.

My second therapist I saw for seven years and it was probably not really a healthy therapy relationship and it ended horribly and caused severe damage to me. I came out of that much worse than when I went in.

My third therapist I saw for 7 months and he helped me so much. He moved away or I would still probably be seeing him.

Now I have a therapist I have been seeing for about two months and she is really nice, but I don't feel connected and I'm not sure if I ever will of if I can connect to anyone again.

There are so many different reasons people go into therapy. There isn't a right or wrong way to do it. I really don't know what is "too long" or not long enough. I think if you have the means to pay for it you should be able to see someone as long as you want. I don't know though. A therapist probably wants to see some progress on your part or they might feel ethically that they must refer you on to someone else.

[genocya]

3 years

[Crescent Moon]

seven years

[growlycat]

in therapy since my teens

Psychodynamic T --- 20+ years and going

CBT T--- about 1.5-2 yrs