5 Reasons Therapy May Not Be Working for You

Have you found yourself wondering why therapy is not working for you? Maybe you’ve just started and something just seems off. Maybe you have been at this for awhile and still feel like there has been no improvement. Let’s look at some reasons therapy may not be working.

“Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes”

When we start therapy, we have the idea that we want all these things to change in our life. We want relationships to improve; we want to feel better; we want the anxiety to stop; or we want the depressed mood to go away. For these things to happen we must make changes in our life. You must put in the work for things to change and sometimes this means doing things that are not comfortable for us. In therapy, the biggest struggle is for you to step out of your comfort zone and start doing things differently. There is a reason why you may hear someone say, “Nothing changes, if nothing changes.”

Work Doesn’t Just Happen in Therapy

This is often the biggest misconception about therapy: You can attend your weekly one-hour session and then go back and continue doing what you’re doing in your life. However, you must do the work outside of therapy as well. Therapists will often give homework assignments; provide healthy coping skills; or provide ways to change your negative thought patterns. You must practice these outside of your one-hour session or therapy will not work. The tools given in therapy are meant to replace the negative behaviors you are engaging in and become the “new normal” in your life. This simply won’t happen if you do not practice.

Therapy Is a Process

You have to remember that therapy is a process, and things are not going to get better because you attended one session. As human beings we naturally want a quick fix for everything in life, but therapy will not provide this for you. You have to put in the effort and this takes time. Of course, there are different therapy approaches that tend to have a shorter length of time, but again, you must put in the time and effort to reach your goals in a shorter amount of time.  

Don’t Forget Small Successes

I can’t tell you how many times I have had client cut themselves short when it came to the successes in therapy. This often led to them feeling like it was not working. As a therapist I always enjoy taking mental note of our very first encounter; what you looked like, the tone of your voice, and if you even made eye contact. Several sessions in most clients do not even notice that they are now making eye contact and appear more confident in who they are as a person. Did you recognize that you haven’t had a panic attack in over a week, even though you were experiencing them almost daily? Did you give yourself credit for doing the dishes when you haven’t cleaned your house in weeks? To some, these may be small successes, but for you this is progress! Remember, don’t cut yourself short. You may be making more progress than you think.

Maybe It’s Time for A New Therapist

Yes, this is a possibility. Every therapist has a different approach to therapy, and we are all different in the way we interact with our clients. Maybe the approach you need is something your therapist does not offer and that is perfectly okay. You may need a more direct therapist, and your therapist takes a client centered approach which requires more direction from you. Again, this is totally okay. However, you must verbalize that to your therapist. You also want to remember that if you have tried a specific therapy approach in the past and it did not work, do not go back to the same approach simply out of comfort. Remember, nothing changes if nothing changes.

Contact Hopeful Horizon Therapy, LLC to schedule your appointment today.