One of the most common questions people ask when they finally decide to book that first appointment is: “How long is this going to take?” It’s a natural question. We live in a world of instant results, and when you’re in emotional pain or navigating a difficult family transition, you want to know when things will feel “normal” again. At Southern Therapy, we understand that therapy is an investment of your time, energy, and resources.
The short answer is that there is no one-size-fits-all timeline. Therapy can range from a few sessions to address a specific crisis to several months or even years for deep-seated personal growth.
In this guide, we’ll break down the factors that influence how long therapy takes, what a typical session looks like with Nicole Freire, MA, PLPC, and how to know which path is right for you.
The “Therapy Hour”: What to Expect in Each Session
Before diving into the total number of weeks or months, it’s helpful to understand the structure of a single visit.
At Southern Therapy, a standard session is 50 minutes. This is often referred to in the industry as the “therapeutic hour.” While it might seem specific, those 50 minutes are carefully designed to be the most effective window for mental work.
The Check-In (5–10 mins): Reviewing your week and any “homework” or insights from the last session.
The “Deep Work” (30–35 mins): This is where you and your therapist, such as Nicole Freire, dive into the heart of the matter—processing emotions, challenging unhelpful thoughts, or practicing communication skills.
The Wind-Down (5–10 mins): Ensuring you feel grounded and regulated before you step back into your daily life.
Telehealth vs. In-Person
Convenience plays a huge role in how consistent you can be with therapy, which ultimately affects how long the process takes. We offer:
Telehealth: Secure, virtual sessions you can join from the comfort of home.
In-Person: Face-to-face sessions at our Metairie office.
Short-Term vs. Long-Term Therapy: Finding Your Timeline
The duration of your journey depends largely on your goals. Here is a look at how different needs translate into different timelines.
1. Brief or Focused Therapy (4–12 Sessions)
Some issues are “situational.” You might be dealing with a specific life transition—like a career change, a recent breakup, or a specific phobia.
Goal: Solution-focused coping skills.
Common Approach: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
Outcome: You gain a “toolkit” to manage a specific stressor and move forward independently.
2. Family Reunification Therapy (Variable)
Reunification therapy is a specialized process often used when a parent-child relationship has been strained or severed due to divorce, high-conflict separation, or long-term absence.
The Timeline: Because this involves multiple people and often legal requirements, it can be relatively short (focused on specific goals) or take longer depending on the level of cooperation and the emotional readiness of the child.
The Process: Nicole Freire works with families to rebuild trust at a pace that is developmentally appropriate for the child.
3. Moderate Support (15–20 Sessions)
According to many clinical studies, about 50% of therapy clients see significant improvement within 15 to 20 sessions. This is common for:
Generalized Anxiety & Depression: These often require unlearning long-held patterns of thinking.
Relationship Issues: Couples often need 4–5 months of weekly work to break toxic communication cycles and build new foundations.
4. Long-Term Transformation (6 Months to 2+ Years)
For those dealing with complex trauma (C-PTSD), personality disorders, or deep-seated childhood wounds, therapy is a marathon, not a sprint.
Goal: Fundamental personality growth and healing.
Outcome: Sustainable, life-long change that prevents the recurrence of old patterns.
Meet Nicole Freire, MA, PLPC
Choosing the right therapist is the #1 factor in how quickly you see results. Nicole Freire is a Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor who specializes in helping individuals, couples, and families navigate life’s most difficult transitions.
Nicole utilizes a person-centered lens combined with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness. Her approach is grounded in the belief that everyone deserves a judgment-free space to explore their true thoughts and feelings.
Whether you are seeking:
Individual Therapy for anxiety or depression.
Couples Counseling to repair a relationship.
Family Therapy for reunification or conflict resolution.
Nicole works with you to set clear goals from day one, ensuring that your time in therapy is purposeful and productive.
Factors That Can Speed Up (or Slow Down) Progress
While the therapist provides the map, you are the one driving the car. Several factors influence your “ETA” for feeling better:
Factor How it Impacts Your Timeline
Consistency Skipping sessions breaks momentum. Weekly sessions usually lead to
faster results than monthly check-ins.
The “Between-Session” Work Growth happens in the 167 hours of the week when you aren’t in Nicole’s
office. Practicing the tools you learn speeds up progress.
Severity of Symptoms Naturally, deep-seated trauma takes longer to process than mild
situational stress.
Your Support System Having a healthy environment outside of therapy helps reinforce the
changes you are making.
How Do You Know When You’re “Done”?
Therapy doesn’t always have a “graduation ceremony.” Usually, you’ll know it’s time to wind down when:
You’ve met your initial goals.
You feel equipped to handle triggers on your own.
The “crisis” that brought you in has resolved.
You feel a sense of hope and agency over your future.
At Southern Therapy, we often move from weekly sessions to bi-weekly, then monthly “maintenance” check-ins before concluding treatment entirely.
Start Your Journey via Telehealth or in person in Metairie
Whether you need three sessions to get through a rough patch or a year to transform your life, the most important step is the first one.
If you’re in the New Orleans or Metairie area and are ready to see what therapy can do for you, reach out to us today. We can match you with Nicole Freire for an in-person session at our Metairie office or a convenient telehealth appointment.
To provide a comprehensive answer to your question, how long does therapy take, we must look at the various layers of the therapeutic process. At Southern Therapy, located in Metairie, Louisiana, we believe that understanding the timeline of your mental health journey is the first step toward achieving lasting results.
The question of how long does therapy take is not just about a number on a calendar; it is about the depth of healing required and the specific goals you set with your therapist, such as Nicole Freire, MA, PLPC. Whether you are seeking a quick resolution to a specific stressor or a deep dive into lifelong patterns, this guide will detail exactly what influences your time in the therapist’s chair.
The Research: Why the Question “How Long Does Therapy Take” Matters
When people search for how long does therapy take, they are often looking for the “dose-response” effect of counseling. Research from the American Psychological Association (APA) suggests that for many individuals, a significant reduction in symptoms occurs within 12 to 20 sessions.
However, the answer to how long does therapy take can vary based on clinical needs:
50% of patients notice significant improvement after 15 to 20 sessions.
Chronic conditions or complex trauma may require 12 to 18 months of consistent work to achieve stable, long-term remission of symptoms.
Family reunification therapy or high-conflict co-parenting cases often operate on a specialized timeline dictated by progress and, occasionally, court requirements.
At our Metairie office, Nicole Freire works with clients to establish a roadmap during the initial intake. This ensures that you aren’t just wondering how long does therapy take, but that you are actively tracking your milestones.
Deep Dive: Specialized Timelines in Therapy
To truly answer how long does therapy take, we have to categorize the types of support available at Southern Therapy.
1. Family Reunification Therapy
Family reunification therapy is a unique modality aimed at repairing the bond between a parent and child. If you are involved in this process, you might be asking how long does therapy take compared to traditional talk therapy.
The Assessment Phase: This usually takes 2–4 sessions to interview all parties.
The Integration Phase: This can last anywhere from 3 months to over a year. Because the safety and emotional readiness of the child are the priority, the answer to how long does therapy take in reunification is “as long as it takes to build a foundation of safety.”
2. Couples and Marriage Counseling
When a relationship is in crisis, the question how long does therapy take becomes urgent. Nicole Freire specializes in helping couples break dysfunctional patterns. Most couples find that 12 to 16 sessions allow enough time to de-escalate conflict and learn new communication tools.
3. Individual Therapy for Anxiety and Depression
For those struggling with mood disorders, how long does therapy take depends on the severity. Short-term CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) might resolve a specific phobia in 8 sessions, whereas treating generalized anxiety often requires a longer commitment to rewire thought patterns.
Logistics: 50-Minute Sessions in Metairie or Online
One factor that influences how long does therapy take is the frequency and accessibility of your appointments. At Southern Therapy, we prioritize consistency.
The 50-Minute Session: Each session is 50 minutes long. This duration is scientifically supported to be long enough to process deep emotions but short enough to prevent emotional burnout.
In-Person in Metairie: For residents of Metairie and the greater New Orleans area, in-person sessions at our office provide a dedicated, physical space for healing.
Telehealth Across Louisiana: If your schedule is tight, telehealth can actually reduce the total time you spend in treatment. Why? Because you are less likely to miss appointments, and consistency is the #1 factor in answering how long does therapy take with a shorter timeline.
Meet Nicole Freire: A Collaborative Approach to Your Timeline
Nicole Freire, MA, PLPC, understands that your time is valuable. A native of New Orleans who now resides in Metairie, Nicole brings a local heart to her professional practice. Her background in psychology from LSU and her Master’s from the University of the Cumberlands has equipped her with a versatile toolkit.
When you ask Nicole, “How long does therapy take?” she won’t give you a vague answer. She uses a person-centered lens to help you define what “success” looks like. By using mindfulness and strength-based interventions, she helps you see progress early on, which can often shorten the overall duration of treatment.
Factors That Influence Your Personal Timeline
If you want to know how long does therapy take for you specifically, consider these variables:
1. The Complexity of Your History
If you are processing “Big T” Trauma (such as abuse or major accidents), the answer to how long does therapy take is naturally longer. It takes time to build the trust necessary to even begin that work.
2. Your Readiness for Change
Therapy is a collaborative process. Clients who engage in “homework” between their 50-minute sessions often find that the answer to how long does therapy take is shorter than those who only think about their goals once a week.
3. The Nature of the Problem Situational Stress: (e.g., a new job) 8–10 sessions.
Relational Conflict: 12–20 sessions.
Personality Growth: Ongoing/Long-term.
Conclusion: Investing in Your Future
So, how long does therapy take? It takes exactly as long as you need to feel confident, resilient, and whole again. At Southern Therapy, we aren’t interested in “forever therapy.” Our goal is to give you the tools you need so that you eventually don’t need us.
Whether you are seeking family reunification therapy, help with a marriage, or individual support, Nicole Freire is ready to help you navigate this journey. You can visit us at our Metairie office or schedule a telehealth session from anywhere in Louisiana.
Stop wondering how long does therapy take and start the process today. The sooner you begin, the sooner you will find the relief you deserve.