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Why does the “therapeutic hour” last less than usual – only 45-50 minutes? Why does the therapist need this and how does the client benefit from it? Experts explain.
For people who decide to seek therapeutic help for the first time, the news of how long one session lasts is often discouraging. And really – what can be done in less than an hour? How is it that the “therapeutic hour” lasts so short?
“There are several theories, and some even refer us to Freud,” explains psychologist and family specialist Becky Styumfig. “There is no consensus on this, but the fact remains that 45-50 minutes is the standard time that a therapist spends with a client.” There are a number of reasons for this, both practical and psychological.
Logistics
This is really more convenient in terms of logistics, and for everyone: both for the client, who can make an appointment with a specialist both before work and immediately after (and some even at lunchtime), and for the therapist who needs 10- 15-minute breaks between sessions to take notes on the session just ended, call back those who called during the session, answer messages, and finally, just drink water and rest.
“The session can be psychologically very difficult for the specialist himself, and the break is the only opportunity to exhale and recover,” explains psychotherapist Tammer Malati. “This is the only chance to reboot, “move away” from the previous client and mentally tune in to meet the next one,” Styumfig agrees.
Some therapists even shorten sessions to 45 minutes or schedule half-hour breaks between patients.
The content of the meetings
The shorter the session, the more meaningful and “substantial” the conversation is. Realizing that he has less than an hour at his disposal, the client, as a rule, does not go into lengthy explanations. In addition, in this way he does not have to return to the past painful experience for a long time. “Otherwise, clients would experience re-traumatization and hardly come to the next meeting.”
“An hour or more alone with your emotions, mostly negative ones, is too much for most. After that, it is difficult for them to return to everyday activities, and even more so to work, ”explains psychotherapist Brittany Bufar.
This duration contributes to the formation of boundaries between therapist and client. Stumfig notes that a 45- or 50-minute session will allow the therapist to remain objective, non-judgmental, without delving too deeply into the client’s problems and not taking them to heart.
Efficient use of time
During short meetings, both parties try to use the time available to them to the maximum. “This is how both the client and the therapist get to the heart of the problem faster. Any small talk would be an unwise use of time, which is notoriously expensive,” explains Stümfig.
If the client understands that his problem is global and it is unlikely to be solved in a session, this motivates him, together with the therapist, to look for local practical solutions, techniques that can be “taken away” and used until the next session.
“The more time we have, the longer it usually takes us to get to the heart of the problem,” says Laurie Gottlieb, a psychotherapist and author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. In addition, at the end of a longer session, both client and therapist may experience fatigue or even burnout. In general, the format of half-hour sessions is suitable for children: focusing even for 45-50 minutes is too difficult for most of them.
Assimilation of information
Family therapist Saniya Mayo compares therapy sessions to high school lessons. During the lesson, the student receives a certain amount of information about a particular subject. This information still needs to be “digested” and memorized the main points in order to be able to do homework.
“You can stretch the session for four hours – the only question is what the client will take out and remember from this,” Mayo explains. “It’s difficult to “digest” too much information, which means it’s difficult to get any practical benefit from it.” So when clients say that one session a week is not enough for them, the therapist usually suggests increasing the frequency of the sessions, not the length of each session.
“It seems to me that the effect of two short sessions will be greater than one long one. It’s like two small meals at different times instead of one hearty meal,” comments Gottlieb. – Too plentiful lunch will not be digested normally: the body needs time, breaks between “meals”.
Application of acquired knowledge
In therapy, it is important not only what we learned at the session, with what insights we left it, but also what we did in between meetings with the therapist, how we applied the acquired knowledge and skills.
“It is important, not the length of the sessions,” Styumfig is sure. – The client should work not only at meetings with the therapist, but also between them: reflect, track his behavior, try to apply new psychological skills that the specialist taught him. It takes time for the information received to be assimilated and positive changes to begin.”
CAN A SESSION LONGER?
Although a session of 45-50 minutes is considered the standard, each psychotherapist is free to determine the duration of the meetings. Moreover, working with couples and families usually takes at least an hour and a half. “Everyone should have time to speak up and reflect on what they hear,” explains family therapist Nicole Ward. An individual meeting may also take longer, especially if the client is in a state of acute crisis.
Some therapists also allow more time for the first meeting to gather as much information as possible, correctly identify the problem, and help the patient formulate a request.
In any case, if you feel that, despite the above arguments, you need more time, do not hesitate to talk to a specialist about it. Together you will surely find an option that suits both.