Long-term vs short-term therapy – what’s best for me?
All types of therapy work in a similar way – they are based on creating a safe, warm, holding relationship with your therapist. It is through this relationship that you can begin working through your challenges, and issues. Therapy creates an opportunity for you to try out new ways of being in a relationship, and in the world. It gives you space to experience new ways of thinking, and feeling.
One of the most common questions about therapy is about how long the therapeutic process lasts. The simple answer to this question is that there is a short-term and lon-term therapy approach to therapy and it is up to you to decide which one you want to try.
Short-term therapy
If you’re looking for support with a specific life event, and you want support with this particular challenge, but you don’t wish to go deeper into the process, then short-term therapy might be good for you. Short-term therapy might help you to develop new ways of viewing your situation, work through it, process it, and find ways of dealing with the challenge. Sometimes short-term therapy is also referred to as brief therapy, or counselling. It can last between 6 and 15 sessions and it is often focused on the specific goal that you agree on with your therapist.
Long-term therapy
If you’d like to go deeper into the challenges, and issues that are impacting your life then open-ended therapy might be more suitable to you. The process of expanding your self-awareness, healing deep emotional wounds, and uncovering unconscious patterns and scripts that are shaping your life can take some time. Long-term, or open-ended therapy allows for this type of work by giving you unlimited time and space to do the work that you need to do. Sometimes long-term therapy might be referred to as psychotherapy.
Counselling vs psychotherapy
Please note that sometimes the words counselling and psychotherapy are used interchangeably. Counselling doesn’t immediately mean that your process will be short-term, just like the term psychotherapy doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be in it for a long haul. It’s always important to discuss your goals and hopes for the outcome with your therapist before you begin.
It’s common for people to seek open-ended therapy and finish the process after several weeks when they feel they resolved their issues. It is also common to see people starting a short-term therapy focused on a specific issue, who decide to continue the therapy to go deeper into the process.