One of the most common questions I get asked at in my practice is a concerns people have when considering the cost of therapy is, "How many sessions will it take?" Frankly, there is no way of telling.  Depending on what you want out of therapy, the length of treatment can be as brief as 10-12 sessions to see real results, or continue for months and even years.  Many people find therapy so useful that they continue for longer than they had planned.  Often, people come in with one specific issue that needs to be addressed, but in the process of therapy discover that there is much more to talk about.  The mind is powerful and extremely complex, and no one can predict how quickly or slowly an individual will respond to therapy.  However, this is not to say that treatment with me is open-ended.  In my private practice, I like to set real world goals that will help us evaluate if the therapy is working and when to end treatment.

Einstein and his therapist. Real LIFE magazine photo. “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” 
-Hemingway

I couldn't agree more. 

Here is a great quote i recently discovered. It really puts in perspective how important it is to just sit with our pain, and avoid the quick fix... "The good times and the bad times both will pass. It will pass. It will get easier. But the fact that it will get easier does not mean that it doesn’t hurt now. And when people try to minimize your pain they are doing you a disservice. And when you try to minimize your own pain you’re doing yourself a disservice. Don’t do that. The truth is that it hurts because it’s real. It hurts because it mattered. And that’s an important thing to acknowledge to yourself. But that doesn’t mean that it won’t end, that it won’t get better. Because it will."
-John Green

"People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges." ~ Joseph F. Newton 

Seven Rules for the Unruly: 

1. The path is not straight
   
2. Mistakes need not be fatal
   
3. People are more important than achievements or possessions
   
4. Be gentle with your parents 
   
5. Never stop doing what you care about most 
   
6. Learn to use a semicolon
   
7. You will find love
   

-Marion Winik  

For anyone who has ever lost a special someone.

Do not stand at my grave and weep 
I am not there. I do not sleep. 
I am a thousand winds that blow. 
I am the diamond glints on snow. 
I am the sunlight on ripened grain. 
I am the gentle autumn rain. 
When you awaken in the morning's hush 
I am the swift uplifting rush 
Of quiet birds in circled flight. 
I am the soft stars that shine at night. 
Do not stand at my grave and cry; 
I am not there. I did not die. 

~Mary Elizabeth Frye

I recently saw this post on Life Coach Los Angeles' blog. It reminded me that sometimes the best lessons come from those we least expect it from.