Should I Take Breaks from Therapy?

It used to be the case that breaks were a usual part of going to therapy. You would go on a holiday and there would be a natural break in therapy as you weren’t physically able to go to your therapist’s office.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most therapists moved their sessions online using services such as Zoom or Skype, and now it is more than possible to “take your therapist with you” when you go on holiday or a staycation.

The question is: is this beneficial?

The benefits of breaks in therapy

Taking breaks from therapy has many benefits, one of which is that it gives you the opportunity to assess how you do without your therapist. Imagine a string of bunting or fairy lights being held up by pillars or hooks every metre. They form a slight “u” shape as they drop down in the middle and are then held up at each end.

This might be how your mood or emotional wellbeing feels, with your therapist being the hooks you feel you depend on each week.

Perhaps it’s time to see whether you really need these hooks each week, or whether going to therapy has simply become part of your routine that, while helpful, is no longer entirely necessary.

Taking a break, rather than ending therapy straight away, can give you the opportunity to explore this without the anxiety of not having another “hook” scheduled in down the line (although most therapists would take back existing clients in a heartbeat – so this anxiety isn’t always based on fact).

Another benefit of taking a break from therapy is to allow you to process what you’ve been working on and exploring in therapy.

Although this can be done while you’re in therapy – and I highly encourage that you do take this time to reflect while you’re in therapy – sometimes a longer break is a good idea as it allows you more time to process the changes that you’ve noticed, how helpful (or not) your therapist has been, and what you want to focus on next.

Many therapists schedule in regular reviews, which allow you and your therapist to discuss these things together as well. If they don’t offer reviews, perhaps it’s something that you can ask for, however, you may need to give them a bit of notice so that they can prepare themselves for such a review.

The benefits of taking your therapist with you

On the flip side, now that a lot of therapists have the capability and willingness to work online, it is now possible to “take your therapist” with you on holidays. So, let’s look at the benefits of doing so.

One of the reasons that you might want to continue therapy while you’re away from home is that the situation you are going into might be the very situation that you came to therapy to get support with. For example, you might be going home to your family whom you find difficult to deal with.

By continuing your sessions while you are with your family, you can put into practice the things that you’ve explored with your therapist in real-time, while also having regular sessions with your therapist to reflect on how this went.

If you are only home for a few days or a week, this might not be necessary, but if you are moving home for a few weeks then it might be helpful to continue your therapy sessions.

During the lockdown, a lot of younger adults moved back to their parent’s houses for the duration as they had more space to work from home or simply wanted a few home comforts. This was a prime example of when it was helpful to continue with virtual therapy, rather than taking a break, as clients were away for months at a time and were living through new and sometimes anxiety-inducing times.

Another reason you might want to take your therapist with you when you go away or abroad is that you might constantly be going travelling for work or family reasons, and not continuing your sessions online would mean that the work became very disjointed.

Continuing therapy online if you’re constantly travelling means that there is a level of consistency and continuity that benefits the therapeutic process.

Conclusion

If you are planning to be away from your hometown for an extended period of time and think you might want to continue therapy while you are away, it is worth discussing it in advance with your therapist.

Each counsellor will have their own views and opinions on taking breaks from therapy, and it might even differ from client to client depending on how beneficial the therapist thinks it is for each individual client.

Even if you aren’t going away, but think a break from therapy might be helpful, again, it is worth discussing with your therapist. If you’re thinking of ending therapy, a good way to do this is to ask your therapist about taking a break (perhaps for 2-4 weeks) and then having a final session. If by the time you come to this final session, you’ve realised that you still need the therapy sessions, then this can be discussed with your therapist.

Again, each therapist will have their own views on whether to offer endings in this way, but it is always worth discussing it with them to see if it is an option.

If you would like to get started on your therapeutic journey, head to our Therapist Profile page to find someone who can support you.