Terminating your therapy treatment after months or years of work, progress, and building a therapeutic relationship can be hard. It can feel like a breakup or a betrayal or the end of a chapter in your life. Your therapist may feel this way too. Termination is a necessary part of helping you learn how to rely on yourself and your new skills, but it still doesn’t make it easy.
There is often a desire to check in with a client after terminating therapy, but it’s not something we can ethically do, unfortunately. Therapists love hearing from an old client that they are doing well or they’ve reached a major milestone in their life. We just can’t reach out to ask ourselves. Don’t think this is because we aren’t interested. Your therapist is always rooting for you. Long after you end treatment, your therapist may think about you and wonder if you did that thing you were working so hard to reach. Therapists care long after treatment ends.
There’s often times some key thoughts therapists wish they could share with old clients. So it may be helpful to know what your therapist couldn’t reach out and say…
We are rooting for your growth and peace.
Just because it was time to end formal treatment, doesn’t mean the progress or growth stops. As you end therapy, you may find that the hard work is just beginning. Instead of waiting for that weekly session to share about your ups and downs, you may be spending time on your own writing about your week or making time to share with loved ones. You will continue discovering things about yourself and learning about you. It may just be a more unconscious growth, and that’s okay.
We hope you are staying well and prioritizing your needs and desires.
Don’t forget to continue checking in with yourself. Asking yourself how you are doing, and what your needs are. Recognizing new goals or changes in your values. We know life happens and you may even feel inclined to reach out to re-start treatment, but you got this. Life will throw you curve balls, and you will hit them out the park. You will always be growing, and we know you have the tools needed to meet any bump in the road with grace.
We valued you sharing your story with us, and are wishing you well.
Your therapist holds so much gratitude for your openness and willingness to pursue wellness in your life. We hold your story dear and think of you when we are helping new individuals on their journey. You helped your therapist grow and learn and become a better clinician. Not only was your story shaped by the time you shared, but your therapist’s story was also influenced as you both traveled this path to growth. Thank you.
You may have shared tears, laughter, or truth with your therapist, and they will always be grateful for that time. You are deserving of continued growth and joy in your life. You are thought of and cared for long after that last session. You are always welcome in our office.
On July 16th, 2022, the National Mental Health Crisis line will be active across the United States. 9-8-8. The previous number, 1-800-273-TALK(8255), will remain available, so either number will work.
Established in 2005, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline helped reduce the incidence of suicidality and depression in callers over the past 15+ years. Call centers across the United States are reachable 24 hours a day and 7 days a week via call, chat, or text.
When one calls the new number they will reach trained crisis counselors. These counselors speak with callers from a framework of empathy and trauma-informed crisis intervention. The new 9-8-8 number will be primary to 9-1-1 in cases of threats of suicide. If someone calls 9-1-1 due to a mental health crisis, they will be rerouted to 9-8-8 counselors. This is due to the fact that 9-8-8 will deploy crisis teams (in locations where they are available) instead of police to assist the individual.
When considering helping a friend or loved one dealing with mental health challenges, remember 9-8-8. It could save a life. Additional crisis resources for specific scenarios or populations are accessible here.
You’d be surprised how often I hear, “You’re the only therapist that called me back,”. Therapist’s voicemails are often full of appointment requests. It’s a common complaint amongst therapy seekers that therapists just are not responsive to calls or emails. There’s a very common reason for this…we’re busy.
Therapists in private practice are often a single person running an entire business. Unlike typical doctor’s offices, there are no assistants or admins manning the phones and sitting at a front desk. A lot of therapists don’t even have an office (outside of their desk in their home). So they are single-handedly responsible for answering phones, responding to emails, seeing clients, writing notes for sessions, scheduling appointments, building a website, managing their billing/insurance calls, and ultimately keeping their business afloat. Plus, we didn’t even mention the possibility of a crisis arising. So voicemails and emails often get pushed to the end of the to do list for many therapists.
We truly give undivided attention
When working with clients one-on-one for an hour at a time, clients expect our undivided attention. Your therapist wouldn’t answer a phone call during your session, and they won’t answer your call during someone else’s session. They also aren’t answering calls, while writing clinical notes or attending to personal needs between sessions. Many therapists also have untypical “business hours”, so calling at 9am may actually be outside of their scheduled work day. Most therapists see 4-8 clients a day. That’s 4-8 hours out of the day that they will not be answering phone calls or writing emails. They are also most likely not going to respond outside of work hours because that is their personal time.
We aren’t always available 24/7
So you might be thinking, “Shouldn’t my therapist always be available to me if I need them?”. The answer…yes & no. Your therapist will most likely inform you when you begin treatment if they are available for calls in between sessions. Keep in mind that a private practice is the lowest level of care. There are higher levels of care, such as intensive outpatient programs, that provide more frequent, on-call, services. You may be familiar with a medical provider’s voicemail message saying, “Please hang up and call 9-1-1 if this is an emergency or reach out to the crisis hotline at 1-800-273-8255 if you are in crisis.”. This message is there to remind clients that their therapist is NOT who they should be calling in an emergency. Just like a physical emergency, you should head to the ER, not call your PCP. You should do the same if you are in a mental health crisis…seek out immediate care from a 24/7 crisis line or emergency room. If you don’t need immediate care, then you probably aren’t in a severe crisis. You should still go ahead and schedule a time to meet with your therapist in the next week or so. A good coping skill while waiting for an appointment is to reach out to a close confidant. This can help you cope with current emotions until you are able to meet with your therapist. [Side note: If you want to know a little more about various levels of mental health care, check out this blog.]
We try to make scheduling simple
So what’s the solution? Many therapists have tried to mitigate this inconvenience by using technology to attend to scheduling needs. Being able to schedule appointments online means you don’t actually have to speak with anyone to find an appointment that fits both your own and the therapist’s schedule. This makes scheduling super simple and takes the phone tag out of the dynamic. You may also reach out to a larger group practice when seeking treatment. These larger practices may have an administrative assistant available during typical business hours to attend to client’s scheduling needs.
We have policies & procedures for a reason
Please don’t be the person that ignores the procedures for scheduling and calls anyway. This will just lead to more unanswered voicemails. If an appointment isn’t available, it is most likely because a) the therapist is seeing another client at that time, b) the therapist is not scheduled to work at that time, or c) the therapist has already made personal plans and is no longer available on such short notice. Reaching out this way may just lead to a longer delay before your next session. [We aren’t returning from vacation early just because you called.]
We will get back to you…eventually
So, to recap…always plan to schedule your appointment at least a week in advance. This gives the therapist time to get back to your email/call with knowledge of their upcoming openings and during a time they are actually free to speak to you about your needs. Also, read any instructions that may be available about scheduling on a therapist’s website. They often inform you if they are accepting clients, the best way to contact them, or whether to give them a certain amount of time to respond (amongst other helpful information). Another pointer, try to schedule your next appointment at the end of your current session. This secures your spot on the therapist’s calendar and gives you time to save it on yours.
Here at Simplee Therapy, all appointments (for new or current clients), must be scheduled at least 3 days in advance. This allows for therapists to properly prepare for each session. Same day and next day appointments are not available. You can always reach the Crisis Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or Text “HOME” to 741741. Remember, if you are in an emergency situation dial 9-1-1 or head straight to your nearest emergency room.
There are a lot of people seeking mental health support right now, and a very limited number of therapists. Therapists want to be available and provide supportive care for your mental health needs. Please have patience when reaching out. If you are looking for a new therapist, check out these resources to find a good fit for your unique needs.
If you are participating in therapy, how are you tracking your progress? Do you have a therapy journal you are using to write down key questions, track your mood, or practice gratitude? If not, how do you even know if therapy is working for you?
Journal therapy is very much a thing, but even if you aren’t working with a therapist that specializes in this form of therapy, you can still use a journal to get more out of your therapy process. Therapy can take time from months to years, and tracking that journey can be a useful way to recognize progress along the way.
When you decide to bring a journal to your therapy sessions there are some key points to write down and keep track of…
Therapy Plan
Keep track of your therapy plan. That includes who your therapist is, how to contact them, and their license. (You would be surprised how many times clients forget their therapist’s phone number.) It also includes what you want your treatment to look like. Therapist’s will often call this a “treatment plan” and note your diagnosis and therapy goals on their end. You should also know what you are working on and what your end goal is. Make note of little steps to your goals and check off progress you have made!
Safety Plan
Safety is a therapist’s number one priority in the therapy room, and ultimately it should be yours as well. If you have struggled with unsafe thinking in the past, it can be crucial to have a safety plan readily available as you navigate your mental health journey, so keeping one in your therapy journal can be super useful. Safety plans usually contain 4 key components:
Warning Signs
Coping Skills
Support People
Crisis Resources
Calendar
The most basic component of a good journal is a way to keep track of time. Having a calendar or at least a place to date your entries is essential. You will most likely be meeting with your therapist on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis, so keeping track of upcoming events that may interfere with that regularity can be important. It can also save you from playing “phone tag” with your therapist to figure out a good time to reschedule or cancel. (Nobody likes getting charged a late cancellation fee.)
Mood & Self Care Trackers
There are a couple universal things that therapists usually want to know about, and keeping track of them throughout therapy can be a clear indicator of how well you are taking care of yourself. Those things are your sleep, your eating habits, and your exercise routine. These are the basic, foundational components of our self care, so if these are not in a good place, all the other self care isn’t going to be as helpful as you may like it to be. In addition to tracking the self care in your life, tracking your mood can give you some sound data on what triggers certain emotions and how your sleep and other self care activities affect how you feel.
Additionally, making notes in a journal during or after a therapy session can help you remember homework assigned, important questions asked, and highlights from the progress you have made since the last session. You can also use a therapy journal to practice daily gratitude or write down affirmations that speak to your current journey. Making full use of a therapy journal can make your mental health journey that much more meaningful.
If you are looking for a journal that helps outline these key components (like the pages above) check out the Healing Journal! Here’s to hoping your therapy journey leads to peace, love, and happiness in your life!
One of the the biggest deterrents from attending therapy is the expense of it. The cost of therapy doesn’t have to be a barrier to care though. There are multiple ways to pay for therapy and get adequate care without breaking the bank.
Utilizing your insurance is one of the most common ways to pay for therapy. In California, it is reported that approximately 58% of therapists accept insurance in some form. Your medical insurance provider should be able to give you a list of therapists in your area that accept your insurance, what the copay may be (or if you will be reimbursed), and if there are any restrictions on services (i.e. a diagnosis is needed, limit on amount of sessions, etc.). If you have a HSA or FSA account attached to your insurance, this could be a way to put money away to cover the cost of therapy as well.
As of January 1st, 2022, if you are interested in working with an “Out-of-Network” provider, they should also provide you with a “Good Faith Estimate” of services. Learn a little more about GFEs here.
EAP Services
Looking into additional mental health coverage through an employer is another great way to access mental health treatment. Some employers will provide additional EAP services that cover counseling. While others may provide wellness treatment reimbursement, meaning they will reimburse you for certain wellness related services you paid for out-of-pocket. Check in with your human resources department to see if they have additional services you can tap into.
Private Pay
Now as noted above, about 58% of therapists in California accept insurance, which means about 42% do not. This is common due to the fact that not long ago health insurance did not cover the cost of behavioral health services. This often is a preferred method for covering the cost of therapy amongst consumers for various reasons. One being the paper trail of their diagnosis that is left behind when they are treated through an insurance provider. One may not want a diagnosis attached to their medical record. In other cases, many people attend therapy to prevent reaching a point of having a clinically diagnos-able disorder. Preventative therapy treatment is often times not covered by insurance providers.
On the therapist’s end, it is also very likely that an insurance provider would reimburse a therapist at a much lower rate than their out-of-pocket fee. This often is a barrier for therapists paneling with an insurance carrier, while also trying to make a living.
Sliding Scale Services
Sliding scale services are often times a way therapists make services more accessible. A therapist may offer a lower fee per session for a certain amount of time in order to provide services to clients that have financial barriers to accessing therapy. If you currently work with a therapist and are experiencing financial hardship, a therapist will often implement a sliding scale rate so your therapy treatment is not interrupted. Associate therapists often also provide sliding scale services because they are still in training to become a licensed provider. Therapy directories like Open Path Collective also provide a list of providers who offer sliding scale services.
Community Based Agencies
Due to the type of work therapists do, there is an abundance of non-profits and community based agencies that provide mental health services to various degrees. Often times these agencies partner with local schools, universities, or county governments to provide specific types of services to the community. Services range from school-based services for students to agencies focused on specific types of diagnoses. These agencies do amazing work supporting local communities and making mental health treatment more accessible.
Ideally, the cost of therapy would not be a barrier to treatment. When considering whether to seek out therapy services consider the benefits that you are getting from that experience. The improvement in your overall health & wellness is hard to put a price on. Making some adjustments to your budget temporarily to gain the tools and peace of mind needed to show up in your life as your best self may just be worth it.
If you are hoping to start therapy services and are a California resident feel free to schedule a free consultation here.
Purchase the Healing Journal
A 90-day journal made to assist throughout your therapy process. Document your goals, growth, and successes on your healing journey!
