How do you know if therapy is working?
If it fucking sucks sometimes, and it’s really hard and exhausting, it’s probably working.
If you’re feeling emotions you don’t want to feel because you’re facing your issues head on for the first time in ages, it’s probably working.
If you’re beginning to replace unhealthy coping skills with healthy ones even just sometimes, it’s probably working.
If you’re taking some steps backward but more steps forward, regardless of whether they’re just teeny tiny ones, it’s probably working.
If your therapist annoys the hell out of you sometimes because they won’t relent, but you’re also learning to trust them and work together as a team, it’s probably working.
If you and your therapist occasionally disagree or have conflict but healthily work through it, it’s probably working.
If you leave some sessions feeling worn and tired, and others feeling more hopeful and focused, it’s probably working.
If you have a more clear idea of what your goals in recovery are, or at least know that when you lose sight of them you have a place to go to get back on track, it’s probably working.
If you’re making progress in any way, shape or form, no matter how slow or painful it is, it’s probably working.
(There are a lot of different, more specific measures of progress that vary greatly across the different styles of therapy – if you give a specific therapy type I could probably give a more specific answer, but in my experience these things tend to be the same/similar across the board! :)
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