4 Signs You Should Break Up With Your Therapist

Being in psychotherapy means you’re committed to the journey of being in a better frame of mind and dealing with your personal issues.

However, if your therapist is causing delays in growth or progress and making you question if they’re a right fit, it might be time to look for a new one.

Today, we’re going to take a closer look at when and how to break up with your therapist professionally and painlessly.

Your patient-doctor dynamic isn’t working.

Your psychiatrist is supposed to be working hand in hand with you to address the issues that are preventing you from becoming a better person. But if you feel like you aren’t getting sufficient encouragement or feedback from them, then it might be time to look for someone else who can.

And while therapists are expected to be professional at all times, a little friendliness and some empathy will go a long way in making a patient feel seen and heard. 

This is especially true for patients who’ve been seeing their therapists for at least a year and have not yet seen any significant progress. If this is the case with you, go ahead and let your therapist know about it, and see if any changes will be made.

It’s difficult to see your therapist regularly.

A competent therapist or psychologist should have a system that will allow them to see patients regularly. For instance, if the prescription for certain medication needs to be filled, there has to be a way for patients to get in touch with them. 

If your therapist doesn’t use a medical concierge to help manage their patients’ schedules, then something like a receptionist service or secretary should be able to assist in coordinating with patients. 

But if you find that you’re having a hard time either setting up an appointment or keeping the ones given to you for some reason, it might be a good time to shop around for one with a better fit. This way, there won’t be a gap in taking your meds or getting the regular therapy you need.

You always feel worse after a session with them.

Some therapy sessions, especially those among younger adults and teens, can understandably get emotionally upsetting at times. But if this is the overall pervading feeling whenever you come out of a session, there might be something there that isn’t working out.

So if you feel that your therapist is being judgmental, not listening enough to what you’re saying, and being overall unsupportive, go ahead and talk to them about it instead of just ditching the next sessions and not showing up.

Some therapists can recommend treatments like neurofeedback and other non-invasive methods to see if can help you deal with depression or anxiety symptoms. But this usually comes after several sessions and when your therapist has gotten a good sense of your mental and emotional map.

You feel that therapy itself isn’t something you still need.

Sometimes, breaking up with your therapist doesn’t really have something to do with their performance or attitude. It might just be because you realized that therapy is no longer what you need at this point in your life.

So be honest and upfront about it with your therapist and tell them that, after all the sessions and marriage counselling, you’ve decided to go ahead and talk to a divorce lawyer. Or you might want to try an alternative method like hypnotherapy to get rid of an addiction or bad habit. 

If your therapist is truly supportive, they will understand and won’t take your decision personally.