Not sure if therapy's working? Here's how to tell.

A question I often get in session is; "Well what do you think, do you think I'm making progress? Or statements like, "I feel stuck like I'm not moving forward." If this has happened to you in therapy, or if you feel uncertain if your hard work is paying off consider these questions first:

• Am I motivated to change and do I have enough energy to do so?

• Do I feel like my therapist is a good fit for me? Do I feel and believe that she/he empathizes and understands what is going on with me?

• Am I attending therapy regularly? Consistency is a key component of therapy.

• Have I worked with my therapist to plan for obtainable and measurable goals, or are they too big and too far off for me to even touch?

• Am I following all my therapist's recommendations (examples; getting a psychiatric evaluation, having a good exercise and nutrition plan, better sleep hygiene).

• Have I created a good support system for myself, so that I can endure my therapeutic journey?

  
  

If you feel you have a handle on these items, or know how to fix them, move on to asking your self about your actual progress in treatment.

• Have I made progress on my goals? (for example if your goal is to decrease depressive symptoms (example; tearfulness, low motivation, loss of interest in pleasurable activities), from 5x/wk to 1x/wk, ask yourself if you have met that goal and/or made progress? If not, ask yourself and discuss with your therapist why.

• Do I feel an internal change happening inside me? (i.e., Am I looking at the world differently? Do I have a new found hope for my future?)

• Has my energy level and motivation improved?

• Have friends, family or partners noticed a change in you or commented to you about it?

• Have I reviewed my progress with my therapist asking for feedback? If my therapist said I was not making progress on my goals, was there a change made to my treatment plan and/or goals?

• Do I like myself more? Or am I continuing to engage in negative self-talk?

• Have I worked on my trauma? If not, or if I chose not to work on it, was that discussed with my therapist and what was his/her feedback?

At the end of the day, if you personally don't feel you are making progress in therapy, your motivation to engage in and work in therapy, will automatically decrease. The goal should be for that not to happen. You want to increase your self-esteem and confidence, not feel like you are dragging yourself through the mud during this process.

Also, from professional experience, when I get a client that says to me during the therapeutic journey, "I feel stuck," a lot of time it is because a.) they aren't implementing any changes to improve their daily functioning and/or b.) it is because they have not worked on/processed and do not understand the impact of their trauma, on their daily functioning.

Therapy isn't easy, but it CAN BE LIFE CHANGING! I wish you luck on your process of self discovery and growth.