2 Session/week Client

[Chosen]

Hey

So I used to be almost once a month session client, and then had to graduate from that therapist. Now, I'm with one that I was seeing once a week....but so much stuff has been brought up that I've raised it to twice a week. And it's a struggle to even wait the 3 or 4 days in between sessions. I never was like that before. On some level, I Know it's needed and good since we're digging deep into uncharted trauma....but I really liked not needing twice weekly appts. I'm grateful I have them and can afford them...but gosh durn it if my pride isn't all ruffled over for feeling so broken that I need two sessions a week. Especially after already being in counseling for 8 freaking years!

Can anyone relate?

 

[Silver.]

It might be tough and stressful going twice a week, but just think of the end game, and getting yourself on the path to a healthier you. x

 

[Snowflake]

I also see my therapist 2x weekly. I even get a phone call on another day. I still struggle to get through. I know for me she is my only support system and with talking about deep trauma, I, at this time, need her support. On the off days I still call and leave messages to remind her how much I need her to understand, care and believe in me. I hope someday I can go without the call or the 2nd session but right now I desperately need it and she knows it and accepts it. I guess that's all that matters. Try not to beat yourself up -what your doing is okay.

 

[joeylittle]

I think of it as having the ability (time, $ resource, headspace) to focus on getting more work done. When I have the time and proximity, I get more hours in therapy. When I'm traveling or overstretched at work, I do less.

It's not about being more or less broken...just in what context you are doing the work.

And it's sometimes just as much work to only do one session a month, or totally take a break and see how you manage without the structure.

I guess in my mind, it's like having a personal trainer for my mental health.

 

[Suzetig]

I see mine at varying intervals, started out weekly, a few times I've added in 2nd sessions for a while, then gone fortnightly - my sessions are consistently 90 mins long, so adding in extra means 3 hours of work a week. I'm coming to a point of doing some work on dissociation and can see me needing her a bit more while I tackle that, so may bump up again for s while.

I don't think therapy has a particular course where you start with a tidy weekly session and gradually decrease - our hearts and minds don't work that way.

 

[barefoot]

I started off a couple of years ago on 1x60 min session a week. A few months in, things hit the fan and I kept that weekly slot and added a two-hour slot on another day. A few months later, I dropped the one-hour slot and did a weekly two-hour session. Now I have a weekly 90min session, which is working well for me currently.

If you can afford it (in terms of financial and time investment) and have the head space available and you're finding both sessions useful, it's probably the right thing for you right now.

And, of course, you can change that arrangement at any any point if you want to - either if things settle down a bit and you don't feel you need two sessions a week or if it becomes too much. The good thing about having more therapy time is that you can crack on through the work and have more support. The potential downside for me was that it was pretty intense - it's a lot of head work without much processing time between sessions and, at times (because I wasn't working at the time) it felt like therapy was all-encompassing.

If you're struggling between sessions and you're grateful for the current extra time and support, it sounds like that's the right thing for you at the moment. No self-judgement/self-criticism required - just do what helps.

 

[Chosen]

Thank you, everyone, so much!

@Suzetig, the reminder that our minds and hearts don't work that way....thank you. I definitely needed that.

 

[FauxLiz]

I see my T twice a week as often as both our schedules will allow it. (Mine is the difficult schedule but he will sometimes add a Sat. session and has even offered a Sun. afternoon session once when T had been gone one week I was going to be gone part of the next and it was going to cause us to have a three week period between sessions at a time when he knew I was struggling with issues at work. I really am lucky because he does go abome and way beyond to listen to me and work with me.

 

[Panda Bear]

I'm a weekly gal....normally.

But, like everything else in life, when a little more help is needed, I go more. Holidays(Oct-Jan) usually involve a lot more 'cleaning up' as I put it and those are times when it's common for me to land 2x a week here and there.

I used to feel really bad when I needed to see him more than once a week, like some sort of therapy reject. But not so much anymore. As long as the second session is productive and helpful, I don't care.

 

[qwyoey]

Take the time you need now. It doesn't matter how much or how little you see them. You shouldn't judge yourself on your needs. I've had an ebb and flow of therapy, and I think that's natural. Your life isn't linear, and neither are your emotions, and certainly PTSD isn't.

 

[theshadowoftheliving]

I was doing twice a week double sessions with my last therapist, and I think it actually was more stressful to have that level of attention placed on me and my functioning. Now I'm back to one a week. Sometimes it is really hard to get through the week. But, it gives me a chance to breathe in between sessions and it actually feels good to be trusted with my own safety, which wasn't something my last therapist could do.