When people think of therapy, most likely they think of going to see a therapist once a week or every 2 weeks for a 50-minute session. This is common and works in some instances, but just because it is common doesn’t mean it is the best way to do therapy. This model has been around since the dinosaurs (like Freud) and has been cemented into therapist’s brains by insurance companies that want to pay for as short and as minimal therapy as possible. But in this case, common, usual, “how it’s done” ends up becoming a one-size-fits-all model of therapy. And one-size-fits-all almost never fits all.

Good news- you don’t have to be stuck in this old model! Instead of the old model, imagine what you could accomplish sitting down for 2 or 3 hours with your therapist all at once! Or coming in 2 or 3 times a week for a couple weeks to really dive deep and fix problems quickly. Far too often, the time between sessions is just downtime where little is accomplished towards your therapy goals. Coming in more frequently, and for longer sessions -especially at the beginning- often means getting faster help and resolutions to your problems and also can mean less therapy needed overall to get your desired results. And longer is not the only option – for some people, having a weekly half-hour stress management session could be a beneficial refocus. Shorter or longer, flexibility to suit your needs is the idea here.

Unfortunately, many therapists cannot offer this because of restrictions with insurance reimbursement. Insurance companies tell therapists how long sessions can be, how frequently, and even what type of therapy is approved if the therapist wants to get paid. This is why we don’t take insurance directly at Redwood Family Therapy. Whatever you and your therapist decide together will be most beneficial, we can do, without any people behind a desk, thousands of miles away saying they will not cover the therapy because it doesn’t fit in their box of all-knowing insurance company wisdom. And thankfully, therapy is quite affordable, and when the therapy can truly be tailored to your personal needs, both affordable and effective.

For something as personal and intimate as someone’s therapy needs, who would want one-size-fits-all. Well, other than insurance companies…