Whether you’ve been seeing your therapist for a few months or a few years, it’s very likely that at some point during the treatment you will feel likenothing is happening. “What am I really getting out of this?” you’ll wonder. “Is this still working for me?” This feeling of stuck-ness is common and it doesn’t mean you’re “failing” attherapy.Plateaus happen in almost every therapeutic relationship eventually, and they can look different depending on why you’re in therapy. For some, it may look like obsessing about the same problem week after week without moving toward any kind of solution or resolution. For others, it may look like struggling to find something to talk about with the therapist. In either situation, the question becomes, at this point, what to do when it happens?

Not Every Week is a Breakthrough

Don’t Give Up

The worst thing you can do when you feel like you’ve hit a plateau is to quit therapy without talking about it with your therapist. Your therapist will help you evaluate your progress so far, where you want to go, and what you (and they) think might be holding you back. Are there any issues or subjects you brought up before and tabled for another time? Maybe that time has come. Has your therapist said or done anything that may have upset or angered you? This could’ve caused arupturein your relationship, and it might be a good time to address it. There could be multiple reasons you might be at a standstill, but it’s important to get to the root of the issue before giving up.Of course, therapy isn’t meant to continue in perpetuity; therapists begin every new relationship with their clients withterminationin mind, and maybe it really is time to “graduate” from therapy. Your therapist will let you know if they think that’s the case, too, and together you can make plans to review how far you’ve come so that you can reemerge in the world with the skills and self-awareness you gained from your weekly therapy hour.

It Might Be Time for a Change

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