Owner and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at BridgeHope Family Therapy
Answered a year ago
Behavioral therapy is a marathon, not a sprint. That's not to say that you'll be in therapy forever, rather, therapy can take time to create change. Just like training for a long-distance race, it requires preparation, practice, and consistency to meet your personal record, or personal goal. Therapy is a collaboration and co-creation between clinician and client in identifying links from the past to the present, identifying areas for improvement, and engaging in a supportive space. While your therapist or clinician may have the education, expertise, and training, you have the desire, choice, and follow through of using interventions between sessions and determining what works and doesn't work for you. Just as one hour of exercise over a 1-week or 2-week period isn't effective for lasting fitness, the same can be said for your mental fitness, in that you also need to commit to doing the work between sessions to see growth in progressing in your goals.