Its nice to have somewhere to talk about my problems, but is that the point of therapy?
If Im walking out of therapy feeling worse, does that mean its not helping me?
As a psychiatrist, these are some of the frustrations I often hear in appointments.
Najeebah Al-Ghadban
Its very common for people to question whethertherapyworks in the first place.
Therapy is more about taking the time to look for and treat thesourceof the wound.
It can be hard to understand what therapy is targeting, orhowit is doing so.
), I want to help clarify the nuances of improvement and success in psychotherapy.
So, what does success look like in therapy?
Not knowing or being able to control our environment is very difficult.
This makes it harder to know what our expectations should truly be for improvement.
Your goals might also start off as more surface level (e.g., I want to sleep better).
For instance, a therapist might notice you change the topic every time your partner is mentioned.
Goals may change due to life circumstances, too, as life itself is unpredictable.
There are a few common ways to assess your progress in therapy.
But lets unpack this some more.
Sometimes therapists will use objective measurements in session to help monitor symptoms and clearly demonstrate improvement.
you’ve got the option to, however, track your symptoms on your own outside of sessions.
Another measure of success is behavioral change.
But keep in mind that not all progress will be obvious and tangible.
Say youre receiving therapy thats insight-oriented: Success would mean that your insight has deepened.
Another helpful measure to look at is whether youre actually implementing themental health toolsyoure learning.
This might feel similar to behavior change but tends to be a bit less objective.
Boundaries, she notes, have been especially important for people over the pandemic.
In these instances, awareness itselfof a thought, feeling, or behaviorcan be a marker of success.
Dr. Luce notes that in the pandemic, another less tangible metric of improvement ispsychological flexibility.
And, surprisingly, sometimes feeling worse is actually a measure of success.
Without sounding cliche, you will often feel worse before you feel better.
Dr. Luce notes, Change is hard and can hurt.
Progress in therapy loosely means you are allowing yourself to observe and experience all your emotions, Dyer says.
Getting to a perpetual state of happiness is not reality.
Happiness is one emotion of many.
You also cant feel happiness and not feel pain.
Its perfectly acceptable to ask your therapist what progress might look like for you.
This is particularly true now with the ever-changing landscape of COVID-19.
and provider also mutually agree upon a definition of progress that both parties can evaluate over time.
As therapists, we do our best to offer clarity, context, validation, and encouragement.
But were also humans and not always perfect.
You want to build a therapeutic relationship where asking questions and asking for explanation feels safe and normal.
It might take some time, but its worth it.
Perhaps that, too, is a measure of successful therapy.
See more from ourGuide to Caring for Your Mental Health here.
