How do you know when it's time to end therapy? (Trigger warning?)

How do you know when it's time to end therapy? I personally don't want to end it because I feel like I'd probably get very depressed if I didn't have anyone to talk to. Anyway, since it's starting to feel like my psychologist is going to let me know she thinks we should end it or take a break soon-ish I've been thinking about my situation it and sometimes I think that maybe (just maybe) it wouldn't be that bad to not see a psychologist anymore. Very unsure though. Let me explain.

I've seen my psychologist for a little more than two years. Before I started talking to her I had seen two other psychologists who hadn't really been able to help me. Before I started talking to my current psychologist I was undiagnosed (well, I had a bunch of diagnoses but not the correct one), I suffered from so much anxiety that I spent time lying in foetal position on the floor or in my bed unable to stop myself from thinking about all my anxious thoughts and unable to get up. Everything hurt and I was so indescribably depressed and afraid. I even hit myself in the head sometimes just to try to make the thoughts stop and my brain to shut up.

Two years later and I have a correct diagnosis, I've learned a lot about myself and the world around me, and I'm not nearly as anxious and depressed as I used to be. My psychologist has probably saved my life. Anyway, that doesn't mean I'm doing well nowadays. I think a lot and a lot of the things I think about make me feel worried or sad. My current life situation isn't great and I still don't like myself. I feel like I'm kinder to myself nowadays (which is something my psychologist and I have worked hard on) but I still hate myself. I used to always (every day) think of how much I hated myself but it's better now, even though I still don't like myself. Sometimes I'm doing really bad though. This week I haven't felt that bad but, I mean, about a month ago I was so low and anxious I spent at least an hour reading about suicide methods and many more hours thinking about it (though I don't want to kill myself). It varies.

Basically, sometimes I think I'd be OK without my psychologist and sometimes I really think I wouldn't be. However, even if I'd be OK without my psychologist for a while I'm really worried I wouldn't be OK in the long run. So, how does one know when it's time to end therapy?

Have you considered just stretching out your sessions a bit to see how it goes? That's kind of where my T and I started. I went from around once a week to 10 days or so, and then when that seemed okay I moved to more around two weeks, etc. It gave me some space to really see where I stood in my ability to manage my emotions and daily life without that support without the end being in any way abrupt.

I remember one time we tried that and it was clear I wasn't ready yet, so we simply went back to our regularly scheduled programming. Down the road we tried it again, etc. until the time finally felt right.

I haven't thought about it in a while, no. My psychologist and I tried that about a year ago. We usually see each other once every two weeks but about a year ago we tried meeting up once every month or every other month (don't remember), which resulted in me feeling so bad I had to contact her and let her know I felt really depressed. After that we went back to meeting up once every two weeks. I guess I could suggest trying that again whenever she suggests it might be time to end things.

Remember, just because your therapist is mentioning it doesn't mean they always know what is going on inside us. I didn't always let on exactly how I was doing which meant on occasion he wasn't working with full information and we just needed a heart to heart about what was really going on. But if you are really feeling you might be able to experiment with it, then talk about that with your T and get on the same page about it being a trial run with full awareness it may or may not work.

I can't tell you how one knows one is ready because I am nowhere near but I did ask my T on Tuesday if there is a time limit on this because it was making me anxious. She said that there was not, that it can end when I am ready essentially. She said that even if she thinks I may be ready, I might not feel that way, and it would be OK to continue. She said she has been seeing someone for three years which gave me a little more confidence in this area. Hope that helps in some way?

I figure I'll know it's time to go when I actually look forward to a session.

For me it'd be time to end therapy once I stop learning something new about myself, when the therapist can no longer offer new helpful insights.

I should say though that knowing when to end is one thing but to actually end it is another. While I knew when to end with my ex-Ts I couldn't do it immediately. I prolonged it way past its efficiency period, which had to do with dependency on the Ts I had developed. It didn't feel good at all knowing that I had to stop but not being able to .. :-( It felt like a financial rip off and emotional exploitation..

So, while you may know when to end, it may be easier said than done..

If it happens to me, it is when I will know I should look into getting drugged.
I think ending is when one wants to spend the money on something else-the return on the money spent runs out.

I am on an as needed basis pretty much anymore. I was going weekly for about 20 years. After moving i am finding that I don't want the attachment issues anymore. I don't want to keep rehashing the same stuff anymore. I feel like I have worked through a lot of issues. I am happier and more content in my own skin. I feel like I know more about therapy than my therapist does. I don't have a lot to talk about anymore. These are kind of the deciding factors for me so I told her I would call her if if I felt like I need to talk to someone.

For me, 'suddenly' there was a moment that I started thinking about leaving therapy. To leave the nest, so to say. I had learned so much, worked through a lot, gained self worth, and I was happy with myself. I felt like I could handle life without my T.

In short: it's a gut feeling, at least that's how I experienced it. You'll know you're ready when you're ready. The idea of leaving might still scare you a little bit, that's okay. My T told me that lots of clients feel that way. It's part of entering a new phase of life.