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How Often Should I Go to Therapy? Is Once a Week Enough?

Did you know that over 59 million people in the United States regularly attend therapy? Therapy no longer has the negative stigmas that it used to have. As such, more people than ever are getting the help they need for their mental health. If it’s your first time seeing a therapist, then you likely have lots of questions going through your mind.

One of the most popular ones is, How often should I go to therapy? While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, there are some general guidelines you can follow. Luckily, we’ve organized them all in this article so you have an idea of how often you should be seeing your therapist. Let’s get started!

How Often Should I Go to Therapy?

The answer to this question depends on a variety of factors. Things like the condition you’re treating, the severity of the condition, and personal events happening in your life. Some types of therapy offer more long-form meetings or group/couple therapy. Others utilize more frequent sessions throughout the week.

The most common type of therapy model is known as cognitive-behavioral therapy. This type of model usually includes weekly, forty-five-minute sessions that last for a few months.

However, the most common option isn’t always the best one. Depending on your needs and the facility center you choose, you might require something more personalized. Let’s explore some of the other popular options when it comes to therapy scheduling options.

What Are Some of the Popular Therapy Scheduling Methods?

It’s important to remember that you don’t need to decide on a therapy scheduling option on your first visit. After an assessment and screening process, you’ll have your first appointment.

Your first appointment is for getting to know your therapist, discussing your mental health, and for deciding if you feel comfortable around them. If it seems like a good fit, then you can discuss how often you should see each other. Here are some of the popular options regarding the frequency in which patients see their therapists:

  • Weekly sessions
  • Biweekly sessions
  • Multiple sessions in one week
  • As-needed sessions

1. Weekly Sessions

A weekly session is a great place to start when beginning therapy. Generally, most patients will start with this frequency, then increase or decrease as needed. A weekly session is ideal for people who want to build skills related to things like mindfulness, coping, and communication.

It’s also good for people working through a specific type of problem. For example, trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, and divorce as some popular reasons for weekly sessions. Finally, weekly sessions are important for breaking through old behavior and reprogramming your brain. The frequency of the meetings with a neutral party allows you to recognize patterns in your behavior and thoughts.

2. Biweekly Sessions

Biweekly sessions might seem excessive, but this simply isn’t true. The reality is that sometimes weekly meetings can feel like a consultation instead of an exploratory relationship. Often you’re only able to discuss one area or thing that happened to you. Therapy twice a week on the other hand allows you to go much deeper.

We recommend this option for people who want to take the skills they’ve learned in therapy and apply them to their life in a more practical way. It’s all about taking the inner work and make it applicable in the real world.

3. Multiple Sessions in One Week

Multiple sessions in one week are typically used for people in a state of crisis. This can arise in a lot of forms. One common reason is that your mental health is preventing you from going/functioning in school and work.

It’s also important for people whose safety is in question. Keep in mind that multiple sessions aren’t reserved strictly for people in a state of crisis. It’s also ideal for people experiencing a big transition or change in their life. Multiple sessions can help individuals in these circumstances stay healthy and supported.

4. As-Needed Sessions

As-needed sessions are typically reserved for people who have been in therapy for a while. They’ve dealt with many of the initial problems that occurred when they started therapy. However, they’ve also developed a close relationship with their therapist that they don’t want to end. These types of sessions are much more flexible.

They allow you to address issues in your life whenever they come up. However, be careful about committing to the as-needed sessions too quickly. It’s difficult to be proactive about serious mental health issues when you aren’t confronting them every week.

How Long Do I Need to Stay in Therapy?

Many patients are eager to find out how long their treatment will take once they enter therapy. Unfortunately, there’s no exact answer to this answer since it depends on the severity of your condition and the status of personal progress. Indeed, some people will need regular therapy for the rest of their lives.

However, one study found the between twelve and sixteen sessions were usually enough for the average person to experience positive change in their life. However, an ongoing exploration of the following conditions can require quite a lot more time:

  • Trauma
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Substance abuse
  • Psychotic disorders
  • Personality disorders
  • Eating disorders

Do You or a Loved One Need Help? Contact Solara Mental Health

We hope this article helped you answer the question, How often should I go to therapy? As you can see, there’s no simple answer to these questions. It depends on a variety of factors that are specific to each individual. However, generally speaking, once a week is a good place to start. The next step is to find a reputable therapist who you can trust.

So how do you find one? If you live on the Southern Pacific Coast, then look no further than Solara Mental Health. For over fifteen years our psychiatric center has been helping those with mental illnesses.

We do this by using a philosophy that combines progressive psychotherapy with holistic life practices. If you’re interested in learning more, then make sure to get in touch with us today.

Psychologist vs Psychiatrist vs Therapist: What’s the Difference?

When you’re seeking out mental health help for yourself or a loved one, it’s easy to get overwhelmed at all of your choices.

A doctor can refer you where they think you can get the most help, but when you’re doing preliminary research (or if you’re not looking for a referral) how can you know where you’re supposed to go?

You might be noticing that there are a lot of words swirling around regarding different types of mental health professionals. What’s the difference between a psychologist vs a psychiatrist vs a therapist?

While these are all experienced mental health workers, the terms aren’t interchangeable. Each one serves a different purpose in your healing journey. People may also serve more than one of those purposes.

So what’s the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist? What about a therapist? Keep reading to learn what you need to know.

What Is a Psychologist?

Many people try to lump all mental health workers under the “psychologist” umbrella, but this is inaccurate. Psychologists have their own skillsets and responsibilities.

Some of the clearest differences are obvious in the ways in which they practice and the education and experience that they receive prior to starting their careers.

Required Education

All psychologists have advanced degrees in psychology. Almost all psychiatrists have a doctorate degree, though some only have a master’s. You can’t be a psychologist if you’ve only completed a bachelor’s degree if you plan on interacting with patients or completing serious research.

Psychologists have two primary career paths. They can stay on the research route, or they can practice therapy.

How They Practice and Work

For psychologists who choose the research route, they may work in universities or in lab settings to advance research in the mental health field. While working in universities, they can also become educators.

When they’re working in the field, they often work as therapists or counselors. They help to guide patients during their mental health struggles. They can diagnose mental health conditions and create treatment plans. They can also specialize in specific subsets of mental health.

They can not prescribe medication.

What Is a Psychiatrist?

While many mental health professionals have a doctorate degree, psychiatrists are the only ones who are considered medical doctors. Psychiatrists often work with other medical professionals (like therapists or a patient’s general practitioner), or they can work alone.

But what sets them apart from therapists and psychologists?

Required Education

As we mentioned, all psychiatrists need a doctorate. Unlike psychologists, the degree is a degree in medicine. This is what allows them to prescribe medication.

Like other doctors, they need to complete a fellowship in their field. They can then pursue further education if they’re interested in a specific area of mental healthcare (like childhood mental health, rare mental health conditions, trauma disorders, or whatever else interests them).

How They Practice

Psychiatrists have several functions. They often work in hospitals or inpatient mental health centers, but they can also work in clinics or in their own independent practice settings. Psychiatrists are unique because they can prescribe.

No other mental health workers are allowed to prescribe psychiatric medication. Psychiatrists are also the most qualified to diagnose mental health conditions.

Psychiatrists are able to provide counseling to their patients, but they’re more likely to refer patients to a qualified therapist or counselor than they are to provide this service themselves.

More often than not, a therapist will refer the patient to the psychiatrist rather than the other way around because therapy is often a first-line treatment method.

What Is a Therapist?

So with both of these in mind, what is a therapist? What distinguishes a therapist from a psychologist or a psychiatrist? Is there any overlap?

There’s a reason that it may seem like “therapist” is the umbrella term for mental health professionals. Both psychologists and psychiatrists are able to act as therapists, though it’s less likely for psychiatrists to do so.

Here are a few other things to know about therapists.

Required Education

Generally speaking, therapists need advanced degrees. These degrees come in a lot of varieties, though.

Therapists can come from degree programs in social work, clinical psychology, psychiatry, substance abuse counseling, and any other number of backgrounds. This is why there’s such a huge variety of therapists in the field.

How They Practice

Because there are so many different kinds of therapists, their roles are diverse. The most common type of therapist is a “talk therapist” that helps patients work out their feelings and make plans to work through them, but there are also therapists who work to conquer trauma, eating disorders, substance abuse, and debilitating mental health conditions.

Not all therapists are qualified for every type of therapy. Many therapists will seek out further education to get certificates in specific areas so they can better serve their patients. These include:

  • EMDR
  • CBT
  • DBT
  • Childhood therapy
  • Specific types of counseling (such as marriage counseling)

Once you start seeing your therapist, they’ll be able to create a treatment plan for you that includes the right kind of therapy (even if they’re not the right therapist to offer it to you).

If your therapist isn’t also a psychiatrist, they’ll often work in tandem with a psychiatrist so there’s an easy way to manage your medication while you’re working on counseling.

Psychologist vs Psychiatrist vs Therapist: Which Is Right?

There are a lot of crossovers when it comes to mental health workers. When it comes to choosing a psychologist vs a psychiatrist vs a therapist, the right choice might be using them all at once.

When you’re in need of help with your mental health, you don’t have to choose. Let them work together to help you on your path towards healing.

If you’re ready to start conquering your mental health struggles, we want to help you. Our compassionate staff members understand how hard it can be to take the first step in seeking help, so we’ve created a simple and streamlined admissions process.

Contact us with any questions or to get started. We can’t wait to hear from you.