Just make sure you like your therapist, if it's an insurance issue try out a few if you don't click with he/she then I have found it's not that beneficial and I can assess my feelings without their help. I am going weekly now and have been for about 1.5 months and will begin to taper down to twice a month in a few weeks and then once a month over the 6 months. It's kind of an insurance issue but I also told her so she might have an "goal/end in sight" and not just consider me a lifetime patient...:)
best wishes

Were? Over 20 years (some persiods more sporadic than others) and there's no sign it's letting up anytime soon...and fun is just REALY starting. Bwah ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaa!

In all reality, I have gone a long time and we have covered various "categories of issues"...parents, deaths of parents, marriages, depression, sexuality...with him as my guide more than anything else.

He's really more than just shrink...he is the only person that knows just about every single thing there is to know about me...I mean EVERYTHING.

What a long strange trip it's been...

i think its a personal decision between you and your therapist.
when ive met with the therapists i have had over the course of my life they asked me at they first visit what i expected to get out of the therapy- what goals i had. when my therapist and i felt i reached those goals it was time to go.
best of luck.

I tried therapy a few months back. I did not get a whole lot out of it. I dont think it was the right fit. I am looking for another therapist or avenue to consider.
Let me know how you make out. Take Care.

I saw a counselor for about a year and a half. I stopped going when I felt I had achieved the goals that I had. Those goals were;

I was no longer depressed
I had been able to talk through some personal trauma from my past and come to an understanding of why I behaved certain ways in certain situations. With this knowledge I was able to change that behavior.
My counselor agreed wtih me that I no longer needed to be there.

Everyone will be different. Sometimes you can discover new things that you need help with as you work through your problems. I also did a lot of reading while I was seeing my counselor and the information in the books provided insight and help as well. I still use the techniques I learned to work through new challenges.

I had to log in a whole lot of hours as a requisite for my training, but then halfway through the poop hit the fan, so I continued after I'd met my requirements until I wasn't raging, confused, knottted up or feeling like I was walking the ledge on toeshoes.

I then sought out a specialist in EMDR for the ComplexPostTraumaticSyndrome.

And since August I've been going for help with a big change I've been making in my life.

I've been going for a year, at first weekly, now monthly.

For me, it's like spending time in the gym. I feel so much better after my "work out".

I want to be healthy emotionally, so I'll go until I feel that I'm "there".

for the first time before, during, after or ever, I have been looking in to going and talking to someone. I need the meddies..

wait, what was the question?

I've been going since December 2009..and there's no end in sight yet! Without my psychologist, I know I never would have left him.

I've gone on and off for a few months at a time over the years. Couples therapy was a bust and I didn't really like one of the counselors we saw (not that it would have mattered b/c you have to be willing to put the work into counseling and the ex never was).

Then I started taking my kids to a counselor for anxiety and OCD and encopresis. Eventually, she referred me to a counselor for myself b/c too many sessions w/ the kids or about the kids turned into sessions for or about what was happening in our marriage.

I saw my counselor regularly for about 9 months before I finally reached the decision point to get a divorce. Then I've seen her intermittently for the 17 months since then. I stopped going for awhile when things seemed to be going well. But then I began having PTSD type symptoms where seemingly benign situations would trigger anxiety and sometime full-blown panic attacks.

At that point (several months ago) I started going again. Like Joyride, I am about to begin EMDR therapy for PTSD. (Joy, I'd be interested in hearing about your experience if you are willing to share anything.)

I really appreciate my counselor and have found someone I can trust and feel comfortable with. I imagine I'll go until I get through the EMDR and feel comfortable with how I'm doing, however long that takes. And if something else comes up down the road, I would go back.

I stayed with the counselor that was our marriage counselor. And we started seeing her in July of 2010. But I really count from November from when I started seeing her by myself. And today, we both decided I'm doing well and I can just call if I need to make an appointment!

In the beginning, I was seeing her every week, but then, but as time went on, we spaced out the appointments. And even though i had to pay out of pocket, it was very worth it and I lucked out with her. She was a great help and I hope I only have to call her when have good news.

It is totally up to you on how long you go. For me, I decided i might not need it anymore because I think it was the things my counselor noticed: I was smiling more, I hadn't mentioned my ex during the first 30 minutes of our session today, you've worked through your biggest problems, etc.

So good luck in decide and I hope it works out for you :)