Biology Talk

rpautrey2 · Guest

When should you stop going to therapy?
June 18, 2008

Story Highlights

Set goals with your therapist and have regular check-ins, one
psychoanalyst says

Logistical issues like money and access can end therapy prematurely

Some patients want to keep their relationship with their therapist as
long as possible

Some people see therapy as detention or punishment, one patient says

There's no lab test or imaging study like a CT scan or an MRI to
measure how much progress you've made in therapy. But there is a
strong movement away from endless navel-gazing -- the Woody Allen
stereotype of therapy going on for years, even decades, without
resolution.

"It's unrealistic to expect a cure for depression symptoms after four
to six weeks of therapy," says William C. Sanderson, PhD, a professor
of psychology at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. "But if
there's no improvement during that time, we need to evaluate whether
you're in the right treatment for you."

Check in regularly

Jayne Bloch, a psychoanalyst in New York City, says it's crucial to
set goals with your therapist and have regular check-ins. But, she
adds, don't be surprised if the "end date" approaches and old symptoms
start coming back.

"I had a patient in long-term analysis, she just wanted to go, but she
felt like she had to be angry in order to leave," Bloch says. "She
felt the only way to leave is to just set the date and leave being
angry. It's not that different than the process of leaving home-often
kids leave their parents feeling they have to rebel." Health.com: How
therapy can change your brain

Good and bad reasons to end

Charles, 59, a Midwesterner, describes how he finally decided to end
therapy. "I got paired up with a psychiatrist who really cared and was
competent to make things better. But after a while, the clockwork way
he approached each visit made me wonder what I was gaining or
learning," he says. "It's easy to get through sessions by telling your
therapists what they want to hear." Health.com: How you may feel
during therapy

If you begin to feel that way, says Hofstra's Sanderson, it may be
time to terminate. Gary Seeman, PhD, a psychologist in San Francisco,
adds: "Ethically, a patient can't be in therapy with two people at
once."

Logistical issues, such as money and access, or an inexperienced or
irresponsible therapist can terminate therapy prematurely. Keris
Myrick, 46, of Pasadena, California, found a therapist through her
HMO. After just one session, Myrick says, "she told me everything was
fine so she didn't need to see me anymore. But I was adamant that no,
things weren't going well. I was having feelings of sadness and was
anxious, withdrawing, keeping all the blinds closed, but I guess she
thought I was all right."

Many patients with chronic depression hope to keep their relationship
with their therapist for as long as possible. Lisa, 42, from
Huntington, New York., likens talk therapy to "going to the gym."
Health.com: Help for when therapy gets expensive

"Your mental health is with you for the rest of your life and it will
be as good to you as you are to it," Lisa says. "The reason people are
so desperate for end dates is because they see therapy as detention or
punishment. But if you're in the right kind of therapy, it's the
greatest reward you can do for yourself."

Copyright Health Magazine 2008

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/06/18/healthmag.end.therapy/index..html?eref=rss_health

© 2008 Cable News Network