1. They feel it isn’t getting them anywhere- Many people go to therapy for weeks and feel no improvement in their condition, whether it is anxiety or depression or an anger problem. If your sessions are not feeling productive discuss it with your clinician. If they are not willing to change course it may be time for a new one. Make sure, however, that you are doing the things asked of you, remember we are not magicians!
2. They don’t click with the Psychologist or Counselor-If you attend your session and feel that something is “off” in the discussion between you and the therapist or that they aren’t understanding you, don’t waste your time going back. There are plenty of clinicians to choose from, trying to force a fit between you and the wrong one is never going to work and can actually be detrimental. I personally went to a psychologist after a car accident left me a bit anxious and he spent the time talking about my goals for school and rubbing his hand through his hair and then smelling it!!! Couldn’t wait to get out of there!!!
3. It becomes too hard- Yes, this happens, sometimes you are really asked to change some things like thinking patterns that can be very ingrained and difficult to change. This is not the time to give up, just ask your therapist for some extra support or to break down the tasks into easier chunks. If you are asked to relive things that are too painful, request that you go about the treatment in a different manner. You already feel bad, you don’t need to feel worse.
4. Too expensive- With insurance such as it is and sometimes limiting your number of visits in total it can be hard to complete a given treatment within the parameters. Make sure to get the most out of your sessions by doing any assigned tasks ahead of time, asking your therapist for home assignments and resources for you to utilize at home and make the most of online resources offered by mental health professionals that are in line with your current issues.
5. They start taking medications- Often what happens is that a client is suffering from depression or anxiety at such a level that their physician or psychologist suggests antidepressant or antianxiety medications. While these do have a place in crisis situations, they are often the culprit for people leaving their therapy behind. The action of the drugs “numbs” the person’s immediate pain, making them feel relieved and less likely to want to do the underlying work on the problems causing the emotional distress. They feel prematurely that they are all better. As soon as they stop the medications, the problems and symptoms usually return full force. There is really no running away from them.