[tikatikadoom]

What do you guys do in therapy when things are going good in your life? Do you keep going? What do you talk about? Do you feel pressure to be working at something?

I'm in a good place in my life right now. I've worked really hard to get here and feel good. There are always things to work on, but nothing immediate.

Yesterday my T said, so why don't we take a break from sessions?

I wanted to cry! I don't want to take a break! I want to see him still, even if we are just checking in. I can still see him around school, but I really rely on that 1 hour of attention. He provides something I can't get anywhere else right now and I don't think it's a need I can meet on my own.

I'll tell him that of course, but I'm wondering what other therapists do during the down times.

[SoAn]

Hey,

I can't speak from experience, but how about you try to go without sessions for a designated amount of time, so that you have a next, planned (check-in) session to look forward to in X weeks, for instance? (And make it an interval that you feel comfortable with right now). That way, you may also find if issues come up now that you do not have weekly sessions with him, and you can bring those to the conversation.

It's great that it's going so well, though! Would it also be a good opportunity to try to find that which your T gives you now in other people, and see this as a time to focus on that? That could be a way to feel more independent of him, and make it (a little bit) easier to deal with seeing him less often. (Perhaps you already do this, but in case). Also something that you could bring to a future check-in session, how that is coming along.

Good luck ! And congrats on your progress, happy to hear !

[Lonelyinmyheart]

Could you go less often? So if you go weekly, try going fortnightly. If you already go fortnightly, try monthly, etc. Then you can see how you cope with more time in between sessions to focus on other parts of your life and less on t.

[SlumberKitty]

Usually during those times where I am doing okay, not having a lot of SH or SI going on, there seems like there is less to talk about. So then I talk about work, because there is always stressful stuff going on at work. And I've been taught by my parents to not talk a lot about stuff at work that isn't going well to coworkers or bosses so I either come home and talk to my parents about it, or on off weeks when I don't have anything else going on, I talk to T about it.

[ArtleyWilkins]

I never really had a set therapy schedule, so we scheduled as I needed. In times when things were on an even keel, I might spread sessions out a bit.

But, if seeing your therapist weekly is helping you stay grounded, then just tell him that you'd like, at least for now, to keep the same schedule.

If the concern is that you don't have anything to work on, perhaps the issue that he's providing that something you can't get elsewhere is something to discuss. What can you do in your life to perhaps fulfill that need?

[zoiecat]

I'm glad you are finally at a place where there is nothing to talk about. My therapist unfortunately does not let me just talk about whatever is going on at the time he is me 10 minutes a session to talk about what's going on in my life and then we have to work on trauma weather that's doing EMDR or CBT or DBT skills. I know you say you have nothing to talk about or work on butt it sounds like you do have something to work on and that is your inability to stop therapy or stop going for a while without stressing over it. I would probably bring that up with your therapist work on discussing that. I'm on the believe therapy shouldn't be forever my therapist always says his goal is to work himself out of a job but if he's not doing that then he needs to recommend a different therapist.

[Taylor27]

When things are going well for me i work on things that put allot of stress on me in life and focus on managing my coping skills. My therapist knows just because life is going well does not mean therapy has to take a break. There are things i can work on when life is going well. Hugs

[Omers]

I think my T would suggest there is always something to work on... IMO the adjustment to “everything being good” requires time with my T because I am not used to it and without him I tend to sabotage it to get back to a more familiar place even if it is less healthy.

[*Beth*]

I am pretty sure that I know just how you feel.

Here's the thing. If you feel as anxious as you do about being in therapy less, you're not ready to be (out of therapy, that is). It's essential, in my opinion, to dialogue with your T about how you feel. It's a "you must say that thing which you believe you cannot say" situations.

[tikatikadoom]

Thanks everyone 🙂 I need to talk to him about it. I think he was surprised when I got upset so we agreed to talk about it more after I get back from Thanksgiving break. Maybe he will have some input by then too. I really don't want to spread out appointments since I'll be saying goodbye for good in June, but perhaps I need to start preparing for that in small doses.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I used to see my t weekly now I go twice a month. It saves me money and helps me practice doing my skills for coping at home.

[sophiebunny]

I was thinking of reducing therapy sessions from twice a week to once a week. She and I seem to be at a plateau. My psychiatrist strongly disagreed about reducing sessions. He thinks I still have a lot of trauma work to do and it's harder to restart then just let the lull carry itself out. I definitely had a good trauma coping week last week. One week does not a trend make, but it is a sign of growth. I'll take it and so will my psychiatrist.