How long does therapy generally last?

How long does therapy generally last?

Lynn Ianni (Psychotherapist) gives expert video advice on: Can psychotherapy help me become happier?; How is a therapist's perspective on happiness different?; What can a therapist teach the rest of the world about happiness? and more...

It not only depends on what type of therapy you're using as far as how long therapy lasts, but also what the issues are and what the goals are that the person has when they come into a therapy situation. So the first session usually I personally, and many solution oriented therapists, ask a lot of questions about what your goals are, get a sense of history, try to share a philosophy of treatment, and before that first session is done, create a game plan together so that you have an understanding of what issues you want to tackle, how we're going to help you move through those issues, and what we're ideally look for as a way to evaluate our progress along the way, so that you really feel like you're going to work together and you are going to know when you are done. That way you're learning tools that you can take forward into your life which helps you feel independent and creates an adult level functioning instead of a new dependency on therapy as a way to solve your problems. You're actually learning to do it yourself with the help of a partner.