Therapy in the Summer has its Perks

Most therapists will agree that there’s usually a “summer lull” no matter what population we’re working with. There are many reasons why people tend not to continue therapy or start therapy in the summer. The suns out, the pools are open, vacations are planned, summer camps are booked, etc., etc. We can find a million reasons why waiting to get the help we need should be put off until Fall, but we’re also overlooking some very important reasons why starting therapy in the Summer just makes sense.

Let’s talk more about a few of the reasons why it can be beneficial for you and your family to start therapy over the summer.

Flexible Scheduling:

When summer hits there is typically more availability in both your family schedule and the therapist’s schedule. You may be juggling a few camps here and there or summer school, but overall your family is doing less running around day-to-day. This can help you prioritize therapy and build in consistency with it before your schedule gets more hectic with the start of school, fall sports, extra curriculars, etc.

Your therapist might ALSO have a more flexible schedule to accommodate your changing summer plans! For example, I usually work in the afternoons and evenings during the school year, but come summer my schedule is all over the board. I offer morning sessions during the summer that the school day doesn’t allow for during the academic year.

More Structure:

Yes, your child is likely in camps or engaging in some activity during the summer, but for the most part the summer has less structure. This is usually one of the reasons why parents don’t want to continue/start therapy in the summer. Some parents have said that their child’s anxiety or depression gets better over the summer when they’re not in school, which I agree with.

However, I notice that a few weeks into summer that tends to not be the case anymore. Less structure also brings more impulsive behavior due to boredom and more time to ruminate on negative thoughts! Additionally, for parents, more time at home with your kids can lead to less patience and more power struggles. Adding in therapy can help increase structured time AND a therapist can also work with your child to come up with a daily routine.

Time to build relationship:

Rapport building is one of the first steps in the therapeutic process. This is where the therapist learns about your child and gains their trust. In my practice, I use a lot of games (uno, jenga, war) and spend time normalizing the child’s experience before jumping into psychoeducation and skill building. If your child doesn’t trust me or hasn’t decided if they like me yet, then they’re going to be less likely to want to listen or practice what I’m teaching them. Starting therapy over the summer allows for us to build a therapeutic relationship BEFORE adding the stress and anxiety of school onto their plate.

Less stress = more time to practice:

Most tweens and teens get more anxious at the start of the school year. Most therapists would agree that September/October tend to be heavier months in private practice because that’s when kids anxiety skyrockets. They first couple weeks of school are exciting. They’re seeing friends they might not have seen over summer, they’re acclimating to their new teachers and class schedule, they might not be getting a lot of homework, and then BAM! tests, midterms, and anxiety creep in. Starting therapy over the summer allows your child to begin learning and practicing the stress-reduction techniques and anxiety management tools when they aren’t as overwhelmed so they are more equipped to manage it when it does show up.

Focus on patterns at home:

Since the summer usually means less “to-do’s” and more free time, it’s a GREAT opportunity to work with the therapist on managing the behaviors that are coming up at home. For example, most of my tween/teen clients complain about fighting with their siblings over summer. This is an awesome place for the therapist to start helping them learn how to interact more effectively with their siblings, which will trickle over into their peer relationships and help them navigate other social stressors more appropriately, too.

Therapy in the summer allows for the therapist to learn about you and your family and build up the relationship so that therapy can be that much more effective when it comes to crunch time!

If you’re looking to get your child into therapy, check out the bottom of my fees & services page to schedule a complimentary 20-minute phone consultation with me! I am also connected with other incredible therapists across the country and would be more than happy to link you up with one of them if you happen to be out of state.