How often are counselling sessions?

The question of how often sessions will be comes up every time I speak to or meet a new client. Some clients already have an idea in their mind as to how frequently they wish to attend whilst others have not really given it much thought. Weekly sessions are the most common frequency in counselling/therapy. However, the frequency of counselling sessions will depend upon the counsellor’s way of working and availability, and the client’s needs and budget. Sessions can be weekly, fortnightly, monthly, more than one session in a week or just one single session. They can in fact be of any frequency. As a client you can decide what works for you, but it is also the counsellor’s prerogative to decide what works best for them in their practice and what they think will be most effective for you. If one counsellor will not offer fortnightly sessions from the start another one will, and as a client you can choose.

How often are sessions at the start of the counselling process?

The initial stage of counselling is a crucial period for the client and counsellor. This is the time when you are really starting to get to know one another or as it is known in the industry building the therapeutic relationship. Without starting to build a strong therapeutic foundation progress in sessions is likely to be slower. This is because part of building the relationship is about building trust. If a client does not feel that they trust their counsellor they are unlikely to be open and honest about what is going on for them. There is so much research out there which concludes that the relationship between the counsellor and client is the predictor of the success of counselling – success being the client reaching their goal or achieving what they wanted from sessions. Therefore, having sessions closer together i.e weekly in the earlier stages of counselling can help to build that crucial therapeutic relationship.

What are the other benefits of weekly sessions?

To help maintain the relationship that the client and counsellor are building.
A week is seen as a reasonable length of time to enable clients to process things between sessions.
It creates momentum from the start. Too long a gap between sessions can lead to sessions becoming a catch up on things that happened in the gap rather than doing the “work” and delving deeper.
Regular sessions help to build trust. Longer gaps between sessions can make building trust take longer.
If there are longer gaps between sessions it may take time to become emotionally vulnerable. Once you have started to open up a longer gap may lead to a closing up and loss of connection.
When we try to make changes in our lives or form new habits that takes practice involving repetition. Weekly sessions can help to keep this on track.

What else may decide the frequency of sessions?

The frequency of sessions may also be decided upon based on the issue that the client is coming with. A client in deep distress or where the nature of the issues they want to bring to counselling are severe then attending weekly sessions is more likely to be effective.

Do sessions always have to stay weekly?

If sessions start off weekly it does not mean that it must always stay this way. As counselling progresses, and changes are made sessions can move through to fortnightly and possibly to monthly as you head towards the ending of the counselling relationship. That being said for some clients sessions may remain weekly right up until the ending. There really is no one size fits all. This is all open for discussion with your counsellor as counselling is a collaborative process.

Are there benefits to having fortnightly or monthly sessions from the start?

The reasons why a client may want to have fortnightly or monthly sessions from the start is entirely individual. It may be based on finances, work schedule or the reason why they want to attend counselling in the first place. Whilst I prefer my clients to start off weekly at least in the early stages, this may not be what is going to work for you as a client. Again, it is not one size fits all and attending counselling either fortnightly or monthly is better than you not having counselling at all particularly if it would be of beneficial to you.

Can I have just one session?

Single Session Therapy is just that – counselling that lasts for one session only. The main premise behind the idea of Single Session Therapy is that the counsellor and client agree to meet for one session only to focus on one specific issue. It is hoped that the session will help the client. It is also backed by the premise that the client can get further help if it is needed. Some clients may choose to have single session therapy on an ad hoc basis. Examples of reasons for Single Session therapy include:

A try out session to see if the counsellor or type of counselling is right for you.
Dealing with a particular issue, dilemma or problem.
Mental health check in.

Single Session Therapy will not necessarily resolve the issue you came with, but the session may help enough to give you an idea of what the next steps are. Occasionally a client attends with the intention of having ongoing counselling but in fact they only attend the first session. This is also known as Single Session Therapy. In this instance it may be the case that the client has decided that counsellor is not the right one for them or that it was not the right type of counselling for them or there may be some other reason.

Please get in touch today

If you are interested in having counselling with me, please contact me today. I am contactable via phone, text, WhatsApp or by using my contact form – please click here for my contact page . I look forward to hearing from you and welcoming you to my therapy room on the outskirts of Andover.

27/04/2025