Short-Term Therapy
Not everyone wants or needs open-ended therapy.
Sometimes you need a set amount of time, with a clear beginning and clear ending, to work honestly and focusing on something specific.
Open-ended therapy gives you room to explore your life broadly and at your own pace, while short-term therapy is an agreed block of 10 to 12 sessions.
We decide together at the start what we’ll focus on. It is still full therapy. The difference is that time itself becomes part of what we look at.
Why time matters
Every therapy ends. Every relationship ends. Every life ends. Existential therapists take this seriously. They don’t see it as grim; knowing that time runs out is what makes it matter how we spend it.
In open-ended therapy, the ending is often somewhere in the distance, discussed only when it arrives. That openness has real value; it leaves space for whatever comes up. In short-term work, the ending is present from the first session. We both know how many sessions remain. That knowledge does something. It concentrates the work. It brings forward what matters most. And it often mirrors a wider truth about how you live: how you handle beginnings and endings, how you respond when time is limited, what you reach for when you know something will not last forever.
Since temporality is part of life, it is also part of the therapeutic process. Therapy cannot exist outside time any more than a life can. Working with this awareness, rather than against it is not a limitation, it is where some of the most important insights emerge.
How the work unfolds
We start by getting clear on what you want from these sessions. I don’t set targets to measure and tick off. We talk about what you hope for and what you imagine therapy might do for you. That conversation is part of the work, because what people ask for in the first session often turns out to be slightly different from what they need.
After that, the sessions have a loose shape. Here is roughly how it goes.
Early sessions are about understanding your situation as it really is: the assumptions you carry, and the life in which your difficulty grew. We’re also getting to know each other, which feels different when we both know the relationship has an end date.
Middle sessions are where we go deeper. We stay close to what you feel and notice, including what your body is doing. I may suggest psychodrama or other exercises that get you out of your head and into experience. I’ll also tell you what I’m thinking and why. I believe being open about how therapy works is part of what makes it help.
Later sessions turn to what you’ll take with you. What has changed? How do you want to live now? We also work with the ending itself: what it stirs up for you, and what it’s like to let go of something that has been useful.
The final session comes two or three weeks after the one before it. I leave that gap on purpose. It gives you time to live without the sessions and see what holds. Some people find they have what they came for. Others want to keep going, either with another block or with open-ended therapy. Either is fine, and we’ll talk it through honestly.
The modular option
Ten to twelve sessions is the initial commitment, but it is not necessarily the whole story. If we reach the end and something feels unfinished, or something new has opened up, we can agree a second block on the same terms. It gets its own beginning and its own ending.
This modular approach removes the pressure of needing to resolve everything within a fixed window. It also guards against the opposite problem, where therapy with no horizon slowly drifts. You work in defined stretches, with space between them, and each stretch is treated as complete in itself while remaining open to what comes next.
Who comes for short-term therapy
People choose this format for different reasons. You might want to work on something specific, such as a big change in your life, trouble in a relationship or a spell of anxiety, and prefer to do it within a set time. You might like knowing exactly how many sessions you have. Or you may be unsure about long-term therapy and want to try a shorter block before deciding.
Some people come because work or travel limits their time, or because they’re only living somewhere for a while. Others have done long-term therapy before and want something more focused this time, with an ending they work on together instead of one that just happens.
Short-term therapy is open to individuals and couples.
Practical information
- Individual sessions last 50 minutes.
- Couples sessions last 75 minutes.
- Sessions are usually weekly, with the final session spaced two to three weeks after the penultimate one.
- The number of sessions is agreed at the start — typically 10 to 12 — and reviewed together as the work develops.
- Sessions are available online across the UK and internationally, and in person in Riga.
- Sessions are available in English, Latvian, and Russian.
- Fees are discussed during the introductory call.
I work in accordance with the UKCP Code of Ethics and under the supervision of experienced colleagues.
Get in touch
A free first conversation
Not sure whether short-term therapy is right for you or whether a single session or open-ended work would be a better fit? The introductory call is the place to think about it together.
I offer a free 15–20 minute call, by phone or video. A chance for you to say briefly what’s brought you, hear how I work, and see whether working together feels right — a conversation, not a commitment.
You’re welcome to get in touch.
Let's Connect
Reach Out
To book a session or ask a question, feel free to call, send a WhatsApp or text message to +44(0)7903848913, or complete the contact form. I’ll respond as promptly as possible.
I’m happy to take your call unless I’m in a session. If I’m unavailable, please leave a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can to answer any questions.
