How Do I Know If Therapy Is Working For Me?

Eliza Wells, MS, LMFT

Pronouns: she/her, they/them

Staff Psychotherapist

Therapy can be a nonlinear, unclear process that at times makes progress difficult to measure. 

Although therapists utilize “evidence-based practices”, which are theories, tools, and interventions that have been indicated to be effected through research, the process is considered an art as much as a science in terms of how it actually leads to those outcomes. 

Much of therapy also tends to focus on feeling, feeling states, and emotional experiences, which can vary considerably on a daily basis or even throughout each day (feeling good all of the time isn’t really feasible!) And each therapy session is not going to necessarily feel as effective or deep as the next. 

There may be days where therapy didn’t feel like it did much of anything at all, and there might be days where it makes you rethink your whole life. 

So how do you know if therapy is effective for you? 

There’s so much that goes into this question, and ultimately whether or not therapy is effective has to be defined by the person themselves, because everyone has a different goal that they bring to therapy. That being said, here are some experiences shared by our staff about the different things that can happen throughout the process of therapy to indicate progress: 

We believe that the important work of destigmatizing and normalizing therapy starts with how we as therapists talk about it, and that’s why it’s important for us to present so many different experiences and descriptions of what it looks like when it’s working. 

Whatever you’ve heard therapy is, consider that it doesn’t necessarily have to look like that for you. Good therapy is whatever makes you feel comfortable (or uncomfortable) in a way that brings you closer to where you want to be in your life. You set the pace, you define your goals, and you are the expert on your emotional experience–and your therapist is there to support you in that. 

Contact us today if you’d like to learn more about our services and how we can support you on your journey towards healing and recovery. You deserve validation, understanding, and compassionate care.

At Sage Stone Counseling, we hold that everyone should have the right to mental health care. We focus on providing affirming and safe therapeutic space to marginalized groups of all kinds, and are here to help. If you or a loved one is seeking support from a therapist, consider contacting us today.