You have been in therapy for a while, and found a good therapist.  You have been  seeing someone weekly, or every other week, and feel that it’s time to review.  Every three to six months take some time to think about and review goals.  Are you making progress? Have your goals changed?  Are things different in your life?  Asking these basic questions is a good start to making sure that you are making the progress you hoped for when you start treatment.  It’s always good to take time and evaluate your progress, or lack of progress, with treatment.

                Making progress toward your long term goals is important when you are in treatment.  You might be working on communication or relationships skills, or focused on professional goals, but the goal is usually change.  Many of my patients are working on relationship goals, including improved relationship skills and social interaction.  Others might be working on saving a marriage or processing an option to leave the marriage.  Some patients determine a path quickly in 3-5 sessions, others take longer and end up working in treatment for months, or when there are significant issues, maybe a year, but if there is no progress you have to consider whether to continue. 

                It’s always interesting to me to check in with patients and find out if they feel they are making progress, and what kind of progress that they notice.  It often takes them by surprise.  When I ask them to remember how they felt when they came into treatment, and compare to how they feel at the time (after about 4-5 sessions) they are able to usually talk about the difference.  Sometimes they report some improved sleep, or decrease in conflict with spouse.  They talk about a general feeling of calm that they didn’t have before, and they share that at times they are more positive about the future.  They talk about improved eating habits and even more interest in social interactions.  Of course it all depends on their goals when they first came in to treatment.

                When things aren’t going well, patients might talk about increase in nightmares, increase or decrease in appetite.  They might share that they are more isolated, and withdrawn.  If they talk about negative changes, there may be an underlying issue that need to be explored.    A good therapist can see changes that might be concerning, but it’s important as you go through therapy that you review your thoughts and behavior.  At times, therapy can send people in the wrong direction.  Issues might come up in therapy that expose previous trauma or other issues that get worse before they get better, so be aware.  Things will still get better, but the issues that might come up need to be addressed for you to move forward toward your goals.  You just may not have known how they would affect your progress.

                Therapy can make your life so much better, but it can also be a scary process.  Don’t give up.  Talk with your therapist about your concerns and let your therapist help you process the issues and look for huddles that you might be struggling to manage.  Therapy is hard.  If it was easy, everyone would do it.  Focus on your goals, and keep working if you need to.  It’s all part of being happy, for life.