The Importance of Weekly Therapy Sessions
Posted: September 29, 2018
I recently had the honor of contributing to a blog post created by Soul-Centred Psychotherapist and Eating Psychology Specialist, Jodie Gale. In honor of National Psychotherapy Day (September 25), the article focused on the importance of weekly therapy sessions. I was so excited to write on this topic as my experience with clients has shown that those who attend weekly sessions tend to feel the benefits of therapy much quicker and progress at a more rapid rate. Therapists from all over the world contributed to this article as many are agreement with this stance. Below I have included my contribution to the post. If you are interested in reading the entire article, click here. Enjoy!
“Are you sure your clock is working because there’s no way it’s already been 50 minutes.” Most individuals who have been to therapy can relate to this statement. As cliché as it sounds, attending therapy is like unlocking the emotional floodgates. Everything that has been forced into hiding is begging to come forward and be seen. The deep work that occurs in psychotherapy can leave one feeling so consumed with emotion and insight that they are completely unaware of anything else. While many expect this heightened state of emotions to dissipate once the weekly therapy session is over, it is not uncommon for it to begin creeping into the other six days of the week. Those that have had the less than ideal experience of bursting into tears in the middle of Starbucks can attest to this. One of the amazing aspects of our psyche is that it is continuously processing and attempting to reintegrate new experiences. This is very useful for those that attend weekly psychotherapy sessions as it frequently allows individuals to continue to explore their feelings and develop new insights in between weekly sessions. However, without the security and safety of having a place to share these new insights and continue to further process painful emotions, many individuals become completely overwhelmed by their feelings. It is as if these feelings have no idea when we will acknowledge them so they take on a life of themselves and attempt to get our attention as much as possible. Weekly psychotherapy sessions lessen those feelings as they gently remind our psyche that it is guaranteed time and space to completely let go and be seen by both ourselves and another trusted individual. Lastly, attending weekly psychotherapy sessions reminds ourselves that we are a priority and need to regularly be attended to. What an amazing act of self-love!
“Are you sure your clock is working because there’s no way it’s already been 50 minutes.” Most individuals who have been to therapy can relate to this statement. As cliché as it sounds, attending therapy is like unlocking the emotional floodgates. Everything that has been forced into hiding is begging to come forward and be seen. The deep work that occurs in psychotherapy can leave one feeling so consumed with emotion and insight that they are completely unaware of anything else. While many expect this heightened state of emotions to dissipate once the weekly therapy session is over, it is not uncommon for it to begin creeping into the other six days of the week. Those that have had the less than ideal experience of bursting into tears in the middle of Starbucks can attest to this. One of the amazing aspects of our psyche is that it is continuously processing and attempting to reintegrate new experiences. This is very useful for those that attend weekly psychotherapy sessions as it frequently allows individuals to continue to explore their feelings and develop new insights in between weekly sessions. However, without the security and safety of having a place to share these new insights and continue to further process painful emotions, many individuals become completely overwhelmed by their feelings. It is as if these feelings have no idea when we will acknowledge them so they take on a life of themselves and attempt to get our attention as much as possible. Weekly psychotherapy sessions lessen those feelings as they gently remind our psyche that it is guaranteed time and space to completely let go and be seen by both ourselves and another trusted individual. Lastly, attending weekly psychotherapy sessions reminds ourselves that we are a priority and need to regularly be attended to. What an amazing act of self-love!