How Long Does Therapy Take? The Answer Might Surprise You -

“How long until I feel better?” It’s often the first question people ask when considering therapy. And it’s a crucial one – after all, you’re investing your time, energy, and money into improving your mental health. Let me share some encouraging news about what you can expect.

In my practice, I work with adults struggling with:

Anxiety disorders
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Depression
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Here’s what might surprise you: most of my clients complete their treatment in just 8-20 sessions. That means meaningful change typically happens within 2-5 months – much faster than many people expect. This timeline is consistent with the typical treatment length reported in several large research studies of various types of psychological treatments¹^,².

What Makes Treatment Effective?

Matching the Right Treatment to Your Needs

Think of it like choosing the right tool for a specific job. Early on, we’ll work together to identify your specific challenges and select proven treatments designed for those exact issues. For instance, my clients with PTSD often benefit from a focused, 5-session program called Written Exposure Therapy³.

The Power of Practice

Just like learning any new skill, progress happens both in and outside our sessions. Each week, you’ll have practical exercises to try at home. These aren’t just busy work – they’re carefully chosen activities that help you build stronger coping skills. For my clients with OCD, for example, these between-session practices are often where the biggest breakthroughs happen. When implementing Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD, practicing with typically avoided situations and triggers is the primary intervention that leads to treatment progress⁴.

Taking that first step toward therapy can feel like a big leap. But here’s the encouraging reality: positive changes often begin sooner than you might think. Even better, research shows that the progress you make in therapy tends to stick with you long after our sessions end⁵. You’re not just investing in feeling better now – you’re building skills and resilience that will serve you for years to come.

1. Carpenter, J. K., Andrews, L. A., Witcraft, S. M., Powers, M. B., Smits, J. A., & Hofmann, S. G. (2018). Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and related disorders: A meta‐analysis of randomized placebo‐controlled trials. Depression and anxiety, 35(6), 502-514.

2. Robinson, L., Delgadillo, J., & Kellett, S. (2019). The dose-response effect in routinely delivered psychological therapies: A systematic review. Psychotherapy Research, 30(1), 79–96.

3. Sloan, D. M., Marx, B. P., Acierno, R., Messina, M., Muzzy, W., Gallagher, M. W., … & Sloan, C. (2023). Written exposure therapy vs prolonged exposure therapy in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA psychiatry, 80(11), 1093-1100.

4. Wheaton, M.G., Chen, S. Homework Completion in Treating Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder with Exposure and Ritual Prevention: A Review of the Empirical Literature. Cogn Ther Res 45, 236–249 (2021). 

5. von Brachel, R., Hirschfeld, G., Berner, A., Willutzki, U., Teismann, T., Cwik, J. C., … & Margraf, J. (2019). Long-term effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy in routine outpatient care: a 5-to 20-year follow-up study. Psychotherapy and psychosomatics, 88(4), 225-235.