How Long Will It Take?

I often prefer to work on a time-limited therapeutic contract basis, which is usually 6 to 14 weeks in duration. This can be reviewed later should the client feel that more sessions would be beneficial. As I mentioned earlier, I believe that establishing goal(s) for psychotherapy is important and once you know you have achieved your goal(s) we will look into the termination of the therapy. I often teach my clients practical skills that they can employ in their lives independently outside of the therapy sessions. I actively promote the client’s independence and attempt to demystify the therapeutic process.

Existential therapy is open-ended, which means that there is no predetermined finishing date. The client and I will meet regularly until such time that we come to an agreement that the aim of therapy has been achieved.

I often work with clients who have suffered from homophobia/heterosexism, while others come for therapy as a result of the psychological impacts of trauma. These clients have endured long-lasting emotional suffering, grief, anxiety, and depression, and a sense of personal vulnerability. The psychological sequelae of trauma, its treatment and recovery, are difficult to handle. It is especially hard to estimate how long treating them will take. Trauma counselling and explorations in sexuality and recovery from homophobia may take extended periods of time to deal with. This is why these types of counselling are also open-ended.