If I choose psychotherapy, what does the treatment process look like?Please note that Dr. Mills does accept personal therapy patients; however, due to an (often) very full caseload, it is more likely that I will need to refer you to one of my trusted colleagues in my private practice for individual therapy, while I continue to provide medication consultation.
If psychotherapy is begun, each of our sessions will last 45 minutes. If you are taking psychiatric medications, or are interested in the adjunct use of medication in treating your condition, medication management will be incorporated into your therapy visits (usually at the very beginning of each visit). Psychotherapy sessions are usually scheduled one to two times a week; however, the frequency of our meetings will depend on your level of distress and personal availability.
In general, I do not recommend psychotherapy visits any less frequent than once per week (at least in the beginning stages of treatment), as this can often be counter-therapeutic (ie; causing you to become stagnant in therapy, rather than sustaining momentum toward progress).
The expected duration of psychotherapy is extremely variable, depending on the severity of factors leading to your need for treatment, your commitment to the therapeutic process, and the type of therapy utilized (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy versus Psychodynamic Therapy, for instance). Some patients show significant improvement in just a few sessions, while others show more sustained benefit with continued psychotherapy over the process of several months, even years. Many patients choose to continue psychotherapy even when the severity of their situation wanes, because they feel the therapeutic process is so richly rewarding and intellectually compelling.