"In Therapy Forever? Enough Already" is a bold OpEd by psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert. Personally I completely agree with his philosophy that long term therapy is mundane, repetitive, and often unproductive. The other day I was talking to my boss, a family psychologist, about why people begin to hate therapy. Staying in counseling for too long is one of the main reasons. When people stay in counseling for an extended period of time they stop working on themselves and expect the therapist to "fix" them. Also as the article explains, there is a codependence. The therapist is dependent on the patient for money, the patient is dependent on the therapist for help. Unless there is a serious disorder like borderline personality, therapy really shouldn't extend longer than a year. Alpert says, "Therapy can — and should — focus on goals and outcomes, and people should be able to graduate from it." It is important to become a self actualized and competent individual. Unfortunately, many therapy professionals are aware that therapy sessions shouldn't be too long but don't apply it to their patients.
Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/in-therapy-forever-enough-already.html?pagewanted=1
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