Therapy: How Long Is This Going to Take? (Spoiler: Not Forever)

Let’s play a quick game.
If I told you to start running… when would you stop?

• Some people said, “I wouldn’t even start.”
• Others said, “When I got tired.”
• One ambitious clinician at CARE shrugged and said, “When I die.”

And just like that, we realized: therapy is a lot like running. If you don’t know where the finish line is, you’ll either quit early or keep running until your sneakers disintegrate. Neither is ideal.

Therapy Is Not a Forever Subscription

Unlike, say, Netflix (where you suddenly realize you’ve been paying for two years to rewatch The Office), therapy isn’t supposed to drag on endlessly. At CARE, we believe therapy should have a beginning, middle, and end.

That’s right. An end.
You are not meant to be in therapy until the apocalypse.

From the first session, we talk goals. We help you visualize where you’re going and what life will look like when you get there. Our aim? For you to start feeling relief and progress within 8–12 weeks. In fact, with EMDR therapy, many clients experience significant changes in just 8 hours of work.

That’s less time than it takes to watch all three seasons of Bridgerton.

Not All Therapy (or Therapists) Are the Same

Here’s a common misconception: all therapy is the same, so any therapist will do.
Nope. Not true. Hard pass.

Finding the right therapist is like dating: you want someone whose style, skills, and energy actually align with your needs. Otherwise, you’re just sitting in a room (or on Zoom) with a stranger while your bank account cries softly in the background.

Some therapists lean toward long-term support — years of weekly sessions. Others, like us at CARE, are more goal-oriented: let’s get to the root cause, work it through, and set you free.

Think of it like this:

• Long-term therapy: the friend who takes three hours to tell you a story.
• Goal-oriented therapy: the friend who gets to the point in 30 seconds.

Which one do you want when your mental health is on the line?

The Hope Factor: Why “End in Sight” Matters

Back in the 1950s, researcher Dr. Curt Richter did a (frankly disturbing) study with rats swimming in water. When the rats believed there was no escape, they gave up quickly. But when they had a little hope? They swam much, much longer.

The takeaway: hope keeps you going.

Therapy works the same way. If you feel like you’re in a never-ending emotional treadmill class, you’re more likely to drop out. But if you know there’s a finish line? You’ll push through — and get there.

Therapy That Moves, Not Therapy That Parks

Every session at CARE should leave you feeling one of three things:

1. More clarity about what’s going on.
2. More tools to handle it.
3. More movement toward your goals.

If you’re not feeling those, it may be time for a new perspective — and sometimes even a new therapist. That doesn’t mean your current therapist is “bad.” It just means therapy, like shampoo, works better if you switch it up occasionally.

Our Promise at CARE

• We’ll never let you get stuck in “therapy limbo.”
• We’ll aim to help you feel measurable change by sessions 8–12.
• We’ll celebrate your wins, graduate you when you’re ready, and be here for quick “tune-ups” whenever life throws a curveball.

At CARE, we’re not just in the business of listening — we’re in the business of getting you unstuck. Because therapy should feel like a finish line you actually reach, not a treadmill you can’t escape.

Final Thought: Therapy Isn’t Forever, But Hope Is

You weren’t born with your anxiety, depression, trauma, or stress. And you don’t have to carry it forever. With the right therapist, clear goals, and hope that the finish line is in sight, you can stop running circles and actually cross that line.

And when you do? We’ll be there cheering you on. (Probably with confetti. Maybe with snacks.)