Hi TAS,
Not sure if I have said hi yet, so welcome!

It really does vary depending on the person, the severity of the abuse, how much support they recieved as a child, how much support they have now and how far and how deep they wish to go in their healing. That said, if the childhood trauma was long lasting, especially from a main caregiver, you usually measure therapy in years. That's not to say your life doesn't improve along the way, it's just that there are usually complex, very integrated behaviors that need to be addressed as well as needing to complete some developmental skills. To compound this, there are such intense trust issues (reasonably so mind you!), that it can take several years before enough trust is built with the T before really digging in (although the trust building and work tend to be woven together throughout the work.

I was sexually abused (as best I can piece together, I didn't remember until my early thirties) from the age of four until I was nine when my parents split up. My dad was also an alcoholic who then dissappeared. I have been in therapy for 26 years with two therapists. There have been breaks, sometimes of years, but therapy has been a part of my life for a long time. At this point, I really feel like I have healed from the trauma, but I continue to go both to deal with issues that crop up as I am living more fully and taking on challenges I would not have risked before and because I just value the depth of the relationship and continuing to grow (in other words, I seem to be one of those people who just never leave. ).

Sorry, I know it's frustrating not having a more definitive answer, but the truth is that it takes as long as it takes and only you can decide how long and how far you wish to go.

There's an entry on a therapist's blog that I like on time in therapy, I think you might find helpful: Long term clients

AG

I used to look and look and look for answers to this same question, TAS, because I also wanted to know what I was getting myself into.

Unfortunately, now I understand why I could never find an answer. There are so many variables that determine the length of therapy. Some issues you might breeze through, others might be a snag that keeps you in its grasp for a while. For instance, dealing with anger (namely my own) is something that I'm just now starting to touch on - and just barely - more than two years into therapy with my current T - almost 3 years since I began with my first T. But that might be something that isn't as much of a problem for you. There's no telling from the get go how much time it will take, because you just can't know how your therapy will progress.

I guess the only kind of estimate I would say is that, for severe trauma (but it doesn't always have to be severe) - you more than likely won't be one of those people that can do work in say, CBT, for 12 sessions and then be done. Therapy that emphasizes the relationship is more longstanding and, in my opinion, more appropriate for healing from trauma or relational/attachment issues.

((hugs)) Hope that helps a bit.

P.S. I will also say that it took me more than a year of therapy to piece together everything and start dealing with recovered memories of CSA (still can't spell that out, let alone say it). I didn't know going into all of this that my issues were as "severe" as they've turned out to be.

Thank you Attachment Girl and Kashley for sharing part of your story with me. I will definitely read the blog.

I don't do well with things that take a long time. I tend to check out because I feel as if I am not making progress quickly enough.

I keep having to have little chats with myself about therapy. Every session it seems that I have to drag myself there.

Thank you once again.

Thank you Blanket Girl! I am glad that you have found success with Therapy. Thank you for sharing your story with me. T.

I used to worry about this all the time. Initially, I went for my H, because he and his T (now mine) thought it would be helpful. I expected one, two or three sessions to give my input on H's stuff. It wasn't even three sessions in that T noticed serious dissociation stuff and not long after before the transference and attachment stuff got so stirred up that it was obvious I was going to be longer. I then hoped for months or a year. It is 20 months at this point. I think, in the last few months, I have finally just given up and realized that however long it takes, these are things I can't and won't ever work through on my own and I'm better off working through them, however long it takes. I wish there were a formula that could tell us how long it would probably take. I suspect, reading the link AG posted, I am one of the longer term cases. But the changes I am already seeing make it worth it, even though it is turning out much longer than I hoped. It's not only an investment in my future, but in my family's, and my young daughter's.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me. I really appreciate it I guess all things work out with time.

T.