Therapy is great. It gives you the space, time and resources to handle the most difficult challenges of life. Therapy can be especially helpful in the often-confusing life period of your 20s and 30s, when so much is changing and many of your peers have wildly different lifestyles.
The aim is to help you discover the thoughts, emotions and behaviour that are negatively affecting you, determine where these come from, and develop strategies to change them. But then, how do you know when it is the right time to quit therapy? First, you must consider whether you want to quit therapy altogether, or just quit your current therapist. Psychotherapy (therapy that specifically aims to treat mental health) is generally equally or more effective for treating mental health problems than medication.
Psychotherapy is also generally more effective at preventing relapse (a return to poor mental health after improvement) than medication. However, this is not always the case. Occasionally, in about 5-10 per cent of cases, therapy can have adverse effects.
These could be a deterioration in symptoms, physical wellbeing, ability to work and function, mood, life satisfaction, relationships, sleep or self-esteem. Not all talking therapies come under the bracket of clinical psychotherapy, but the principles of how and why you should stop them are the same. Adverse effects can occur when there is a breakdown in the therapist-client relationship.
If you do not trust your therapist, have experienced dama.
