Why Are Therapy Sessions 50 Minutes
As more private practice therapists move towards not accepting insurance, including our practice, I have noticed people asking why they are only being seen for 50 minutes when they are paying out of pocket.
Simple answer: therapists are humans and not robots. And neither are the individuals they work with.
Therapists are not working in a factory - doing the same thing at the same pace on repetition. Because humanity is so beautifully unique and imperfect, each session is vastly different. In one session we may be helping someone with coping skills for panic attacks. The next session we may be offering hope to a person in the depths of depressive thoughts. And then praising a client for their successes since the last session. And ending with a person reliving a traumatic event.
This is just in 4 hours.
The 50-minute session benefits the therapist and you. It allows the therapist to reset between sessions in whatever ways work best for them. Then they are ready to best meet the needs of the person in the next session.
So what do therapists even do in that 10 minutes between sessions? A lot of it is self care, reflection, and meeting physical needs.
When I was pregnant, I was still working primarily with children using play therapy. I desperately needed that 10 minute break between sessions to waddle to the bathroom, eat something (because if I didn’t, I would get nauseous), and quickly rest with my eyes closed. It was all about meeting those physical needs.
Even though I am not pregnant and do not need to mostly focus on meeting my physical needs, I still need those 10 minutes to be my best self in sessions. Those 10 minutes allow me to reflect on the session that just occurred, write a note on the session, and prepare for the next session.
How a therapist prepares for a session varies greatly. I generally like to think about what the client and I discussed at the last session, determine if I need to follow up on anything, and prepare any materials that may be needed. If I plan on doing EMDR with a client, I need to make sure the equipment is charged and ready. If I’ll be using any guides or scripts during EMDR I need to make sure I have those prepared.
It may seem like when you are paying out of pocket for therapy, you are paying “for the hour” and should be able to utilize the entire hour. Hopefully with a little understanding of why therapists need 10 minutes in between sessions you can see how this also benefits you and other clients.
