There’s no doubt about it, counselling is expensive.
This is one of the main reasons you might consider fortnightly sessions. Seeing your counsellor every two weeks could mean you only have to pay around half of the usual cost of therapy per month.
Weekly sessions can sometimes feel like a lot. Arranging your schedule, emotionally preparing beforehand, travelling to appointments and handling the feelings after, can be exhausting. Fortnightly therapy can ease the pressure.
Time between sessions is really important, and much of the work of therapy happens when you’re not in the session; you may talk to others about what you’ve covered in therapy, you’ll likely think a lot about the issues and what your therapist has said to you. If you’re a slow processor, extra time between sessions can be helpful to allow this process to happen.
Half-price, lower pressure therapy sounds great, what’s the catch?
There’s not necessarily a catch! But there are some circumstances where fortnightly therapy might not be suitable. There are also some down-sides:
Fortnightly therapy can sometimes feel like a lot of “stop/start”. Some clients and counsellors find that weekly sessions flow better.
Sometimes the time between sessions can feel too long. If you’re someone who struggles to be ‘in your feelings’ during sessions, the length between can make it difficult to get back into an emotional space and truly process your feelings.
The change in schedule each week can be difficult for some people to manage, resulting in stress or missed appointments. Weekly sessions are more consistent.
Often, counsellors will fill a space with two fortnightly clients; one each alternating week. This can mean you might need to wait a month for a session if you miss one. This is manageable for some people but not for others.
When might fortnighly therapy not be suitable?
There’s no one answer to this question and can be difficult to predict ahead of time, but often it’s clear fortnightly therapy isn’t working in these situations:
You find yourself updating your counsellor on what’s happened between sessions, rather than getting to any substantial work.
You become distressed between sessions and feel without support.
You feel ‘stuck’ or like you’re not making progress.
You’re not feeling connected to your counsellor after several sessions (this could be for other reasons too!)
There’s no diagnosis or experience that would automatically make fortnightly sessions unsuitable, but what you’re coming to therapy to talk about may factor into your decision. For example, if you’re looking to process trauma, the security and regularity of weekly sessions might be better at least at the start.
The decision is yours.
Deciding how often to have sessions should be a conversation between you and your counsellor.
Finances will always dictate a lot, but you should be given opportunities to voice how you’re feeling about session frequency.
Ultimately, you should be empowered to make this decision and change your mind if needed.
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