Therapy isn’t meant to be forever. That might sound strange coming from a therapist, but it’s the truth.
And it’s not because I don’t care. It’s the opposite. I care enough to say that therapy should help you get to a place where you can navigate life more clearly, more steadily, more on your own terms—and with less of me.
Ultimately, I measure success by how confidently you can fly solo.
Therapy is a launchpad, not a lease
Pop culture has done a number on how people imagine therapy in their heads. You know the drill: Endless sessions. Cryptic nods. A couch and someone asking, “How does that make you feel?” while giving very little back. That might work for some people. But it’s not what I do.
In my practice, therapy is collaborative and warm. You bring your questions, confusion, anger, sadness, or flat-out numbness, and together we start naming it, understanding it, and building tools that fit you. We look for small shifts, or what I like to call 10% wins, that you can feel in your body and your relationships.
And at some point, those tools start to stick. The fog clears just enough. And you begin to think, I might be okay on my own now.
That moment? That’s the goal.
Our sessions together are built around three core principles to get you to this goal:
- Clarity: helping you name what’s really going on
- Tools: giving you strategies that work between sessions
- Self-trust: reinforcing that you already have what it takes
Real progress in therapy isn’t always what people expect
A lot of people imagine therapy progress as some big, dramatic breakthrough moment. Like you’ll suddenly cry about your childhood and everything will click into place. But for most folks, real change is slower and quieter than that. It happens in tiny shifts you barely notice until you realize you’re reacting differently to the same old stress. It looks ordinary, but it’s anything but small.
From session one, we’re building toward small, doable milestones—10% shifts that stack week over week. These moments might include:
- Saying no at work without spiralling into guilt
- Sleeping without doom-scrolling until 1 a.m.
- Naming a hard feeling with your partner and actually feeling heard
Over time, those micro-wins become macro-confidence.
Graduating from therapy doesn’t mean you’ve solved everything. It means you’ve developed enough clarity, capacity, and trust in yourself to keep going without weekly support.
It can also look like:
- Naming your feelings before they explode
- Noticing a boundary violation and actually responding to it
- Making decisions from values, not panic
- Feeling less like you’re faking it all the time
The point is: you’re not failing if you still struggle sometimes. You’re just human. And therapy can still be successful even if you’re not “done.”
Dependency on therapy isn’t the goal
As many therapists like to say, “Our job is to work ourselves out of a job.”
That stuck with me. Because while it’s easy to stay in the comfort of having someone always there to talk things through, it’s also powerful to know: I can handle hard things. I know what helps. I know when I need support, and I know how to ask for it.
Long-term therapy has its place, especially for trauma, complex grief, or identity work that unfolds over years. But when therapy stalls—when it’s more about venting than shifting—it can quietly reinforce the idea that you’re not okay unless you’re in therapy.
And I just don’t buy that.
You deserve to feel like you’re building something, not circling it.
When the idea of leaving therapy feels far away
I do want to call something out right here and now. Not everyone walks in ready to talk about “graduating.”
Some people are grieving, depressed, or untangling something so heavy that showing up at all is the win. That’s okay.
If that’s you, this isn’t me pushing you to move faster. We go at your pace. And sometimes just surviving the week without shutting down or numbing out is a huge success. Therapy can hold you through that too.
As Audre Lorde said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation.”
Effective therapy adapts to where you are. If you’re in the thick of it, you’re not behind. You’re exactly where you need to be.
What it means to come back to therapy
Is it awkward to come back to therapy? A lot of people wonder that. The answer is no. Not even a little. Coming back doesn’t mean you failed. It means you’re paying attention.
Many people return to therapy after a break. They’ve hit a new season—a breakup, a big transition, a rough patch—and want a tune-up. And often, because we already have a foundation, one or two sessions might be all it takes to feel recalibrated. And if it takes more? That’s okay too. The groundwork’s already there. We just pick up the thread.
Graduation doesn’t have to mean goodbye. Sometimes clients come back for a single session every few months when:
- A new stressor hits (parenthood, job changes, grief)
- Old patterns start to creep back in
- They want to recalibrate and reset
This open-door model keeps therapy useful without making it a crutch. Knowing when to step away and when to return isn’t backtracking. It’s a sign you’re tuned in. That’s growth. And it’s the kind I’m always glad to welcome back.
Clues you’re getting close to graduation
You start saying things like:
- “I caught that spiral before it took over.”
- “I didn’t ghost—I actually answered the text.”
- “It wasn’t a meltdown. It was just a rough morning.”
- “I made a decision without checking with everyone else first.”
These sound small, but they’re huge. They’re signs your nervous system is settling. That you’re not over-correcting for every discomfort. That you trust yourself more.
That’s the version of you we’re building toward.
In a world that profits off your burnout, fear, and numbness, choosing to invest in therapy is already an act of rebellion. But therapy that also empowers you to leave? That’s a radical kind of freedom.
Here’s why this approach works:
- It saves time and money: No endless cycles of “vent and repeat”
- It builds self-efficacy: You stop outsourcing your sense of control
- It restores agency: Especially in an overwhelming world (hello, climate grief)
As I often say: therapy isn’t a luxury for later. It’s the maintenance schedule for your mind.
That’s the version of you we’re building toward.
What a strong ending looks like
Remember this: the best therapy gives you tools, not dependence. Clarity, not confusion. Confidence, not lifelong homework. Whether you’re in the early fog or the final lap, the most meaningful sessions are the ones that prepare you to say, “I think I’ve got this now.” And when that moment comes? It means the work has landed.
You’re not leaving because things are perfect. You’re leaving because you trust yourself to handle what comes next—and you know support is still here if you need it.
If you’re wondering whether therapy could help you feel more like that version of yourself, I’d be glad to meet you there.
Reading this and thinking… maybe it’s time to talk to someone?
I offer a free 15‑minute conversation—no pressure, no prep—so you can share what’s on your mind and see if this feels like the right fit.
Let’s talk