When new psychotherapy clients ask how long therapy will take, hidden in the question is whether therapy will work for them at all. Here was an answer I gave.
The road to healing is long and slow but sure. The pathway has been laid down by the many who have traveled the road before you.
As you are near the beginning of the journey, the end is nowhere in sight, and you fear it doesn’t exist. But I have guided many through the dark wood – I know the way, and I have seen the morning light come shining out of the thicket many times.
The process toward healing begins as you have begun it – by telling your story, which has never been told before. First, you tell it to one sacred witness.
With that telling, the story begins its gradual transformation. At first it is a story of shame and self-blame. With the telling, it moves through shock, recognition, horror, rage, and then, mercifully, grief.
Grieving, which is the binding of wounds, moves at nature’s pace, slower than we wish, imperceptibly, but then, without noticing the moment, suddenly, the darkness lifts, spring arrives, and the flower blooms. The road clears, light and warmth fill the air, possibility replaces despair.
Taking the arduous journey requires faith for you, because the end is invisible to you now, but it is not faith to me, because I have seen the light arrive many times. Keep the faith, keep walking, and keep talking.
Useful post and great responses. I also like “Will Psychotherapy Work?” for the title. Another good post Glenn.