Consistency is Key - Why Making Your Appointment is Essential to Progress

It can feel overwhelming when families first enroll their children in therapy services. Admitting that your child may need additional help in meeting their developmental milestones is difficult for many parents, and trusting their child’s care to a therapist with whom they are unfamiliar can be stressful. For many families, one of the most major challenges is simply getting their children to their appointments.

Most therapists recommend for patients to attend skilled therapy once a week. This is because any therapy is focused on learning and practicing new skills. Having therapy once a week establishes a minimum amount of time to learn and practice new skills the therapist has identified the child needs to progress in. Research has also been conducted on why attending therapy weekly is the most beneficial for progress. In a published article from Brigham Young University, “Scheduled Healing: The Relationship Between Session Frequency and Psychotherapy Outcome in a Naturalistic Setting”, Dr. David M. Erekson found that in comparing patients who attend weekly versus biweekly appointments for psychotherapy, there was a significantly higher percentage of weekly patients who were recovered or improved compared to the biweekly patients, with a 13.7% increase between these groups (Erekson 57.)

While weekly therapy is the typical recommendation for most children starting skilled therapy services, their therapist may recommend more than or less than one a week, based upon where the child places on an average scoring of children of their age. Once the therapist recommends how often the patient should attend therapy, they will establish a treatment plan that follows this schedule. However, if a family is having difficulty making their scheduled sessions, there are different options to ensure that their child is receiving the most effective care. 

Treatment plans are customizable to each child’s needs, and it’s important to communicate with the therapist what is accessible and possible for your family. This may include completing some sessions via telehealth, having a flexible schedule, or putting more emphasis on at-home activities. Ultimately, consistency is directly correlated to the chances of a child succeeding and thriving in therapy.

Source:
Erekson, D. M. (2013, May). The effects of session frequency on psychotherapy ... BYU Scholars Archive. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5036&context=etd