Finishing therapy

[goose]

I am considering finishing therapy, there are two reasons.

Financially it is quite expensive and really the household could do with the money I spend.

I also think that I should try to go it alone and not be dependant on my therapist to guide me always.

I intend discussing this with him (not the financial element). Do you think he will give an opinion on how much longer I should come, or will he leave it up to me?

I would be quite nervous about finishing, but surely the whole reason of cbt is to give me the tools to do it myself.

Goose

[Lindamomof7]

Goose, I think if you feel you are ready, then I think you should try taking the tools you have learned and apply them.

Maybe a compromise could be is that you see him less frequently rather then stopping completely. And if things work out for you then that is wonderful and if you find yourself struggling then maybe you can increase your visits again...

Have you tried support groups? They are usually free of charge and sometimes the information and support obtained from them can accent what we get out of therapy sessions.

So maybe then you can have a fully complete tool belt to work with

Just a thought

[Symora]

Hi Goose, I think you should tell your therapist that you would like to move away from theraphy and see what he suggests. He can tell you where he thinks you are in the process, and his plans were, and you can discuss together what some options would be (like fewer visits). Is that a conversation you think you can have with him or her?

[Bluerose]

I agree. Cut down the visits and see how that goes. Small steps. Otherwise it might end up costing you more in the long run.

[notmary]

Just joining the chorus, but ease out of therapy. Discuss with the therapist how you will do this, and what you should be aware of as you do this.

[Guest ASchwartz]

Hi Goose,

Well, count me in as part of the chorus. Therapy is not supposed to be a life long committment. By the way, why not include money as part of the reason you are leaving therapy?

As to how much longer, that is up to you. This is CBT and the emphasis is not on the relationship. Presumably, you could stop immediately. However, that is up to you, as I said, and yoiu could and should discuss it with your therapist.

Keep this in mind also: Ending therapy does not mean you are prohibited from calling him in the future, coming in for a session and seeking brief advice. We do not burn our bridges.

Anyway, congratulations on this regardless of how you and your therapist decide to go about this. I think its great.

Allan

[goose]

Saw my therapist today.

Before I could even discuss ending therapy he said that he would like to work with me on reducing/stopping my medication. I would certainly value his support on this issue, so i will stick with it for a little while longer. That would be a major goal of mine, to come off medication. We have agreed that my depression is secondary to the anxiety, so by working on the anxiety we should be able to eliminate the depression .

Thanks for all your good wishes.

Goose

[Lindamomof7]

Thats great goose... I am glad there is a "plan"

I have a question though, you said depression is secondary to the anxiety? Do you think that is correct for you?

[goose]

Yes Linda it makes perfect sense that that I have secondary Depression.

Most of my problems stem from anxiety and the way I respond to this anxiety is to allow Depression develop.

[Lindamomof7]

ok thats good that you know and see how it develops...

Now for me even though I have had both bipolar and PTSD all my life my PTSD/anxiety/panic attacks get worse from the bipolar cycling. I think understanding it can sometimes help put it in perspective, I think... I hope... if I keep telling myself that:rolleyes:

[Guest ASchwartz]

Hi Goose,

While your plan might be OK it sounds to me as though you avoided discussing termination of therapy with your therapist. I wonder why? Also, what has medication got to do with ending therapy? It seems to me that therapy is being prolonged when you are saying you are ready for and wanting to end it.

Allan:confused:

[goose]

Yes Allan I did avoid it.

No surprise seeing that I have avoidant personality disorder. Maybe this proves that I am not ready yet ~ I just don't know.

Goose

[Bluerose]

You’ll back off slowly when you feel ready. For myself stopping medication was a big step and a big break through, it allowed me to be fully aware of what was going on and begin to work on everything with a clearer mind. It’s not for everyone though. So even stopping meds takes time. Take care and have a good week.

[Guest ASchwartz]

Hi Goose,

No, it proves nothing. Ending therapy is something you have been thinking about. You are in therapy. That means that it is essential that you talk about it. Therapists are not mind readers. We cannot know what is going on if you do not tell us.

Allan:)

[goose]

I finally had a conversation with my therapist about finishing therapy. I am aware that I have an issue with dependancy, I got quite tearful when I discussed it with him.

We decided that we would gradually increase the time between the sessions, i.e. once every two weeks, then every three weeks etc. I am very happy with this method.

I will be starting group therapy for my social anxiety shortly, and that will be a different challenge, this will be for a set number of weeks and when it finishes there is a weekly support group if I feel like going.

Goose

[Lindamomof7]

Thats great Goose. Decrease one and increase another so you are not left with nothing. And support groups have their own identity as well and if one isn't good, find another... You seem to be doing the right thing:good for you

[IrmaJean]

Yes, this approach sounds like a good idea, Goose. I left therapy abruptly and in retrospect I think that was likely a mistake. I cried through most of the last session and ended up having to briefly return months later to tie things up. A slowly winding down approach should give you some time to adjust. I hope things go smoothly. Good luck with group therapy.