Is it Okay to See Multiple Therapists Simultaneously?

We can positively see that the prejudice regarding therapy has now been reduced, and people have become more aware of their holistic well-being. Therapy offers people an efficient and functional way to deal with their situations and feelings by providing them with the necessary tools. As the therapeutic process becomes more mainstream, the question about its logistics arises frequently and one of the most asked questions is, ‘Is it okay to see multiple therapists simultaneously? This question lacks a definitive response. Everyone has different goals and different requirements for their therapy sessions. While there are both advantages and limitations to this approach, it also depends on the type of therapy sought, the involvement of the therapist, and the needs and readiness of the client.

Types of Therapy

For someone who is not very familiar with the work in the field of psychology, therapy might look like the client talking and the therapist advising. There is much more to therapy than this. Different types of therapies that target various issues with diverse approaches. 

Psychodynamic Therapy

This type fits the commonly perceived notion of therapy. It dives into the unconscious feelings and process of the client.It is a type of talk therapy in which the therapist uses a directive style. The main focus of this therapy is to identify the faulty patterns in behaviors. Moreover, it also concentrates on understanding emotions and enhancing relationships.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is among the most popular forms of therapy that have been employed recently. It does not take as many sessions as psychodynamic therapy and hence is more cost-effective. It is focused on targeting unhelpful patterns of behaviour. It does not lay much emphasis on unconscious motives or past experiences. 

Humanistic Therapy

Humanistic therapy encompasses a variety of interventions that emphasize each person’s unique potential and skills. It believes that humans strive to be the best version of themselves. Rather than focusing on faulty behaviour or past experiences, it focuses on the solution to the problems the client is currently facing.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

DBT is focused on targeting effective management of one’s emotions. It includes 4 key skills. They are – acceptance and distress tolerance, emotional regulation, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness. While DBT is also a part of CBT, in addition to mending the faulty thought patterns, it adds aspects like mindfulness and emotional awareness to it.

Family Therapy

Family therapy or couples therapy addresses the relationship dynamics between people. It helps to resolve or deal with the issues that cause problems within the immediate social structure. It addresses the behaviours of all the members involved in the therapeutic setting. It also includes couples and marriage therapy.

Art Therapy

Art therapy uses creative forms of expression as a therapeutic outlet for the client. This can further lead to improvement in communication, relationships, and self-expression. It includes music therapy, dance therapy, drama therapy, writing therapy, sculpting, working with clay, and more.

Why Do People See Multiple Therapists at a Time?

People are entitled to see multiple therapists if they feel like it. Although, there are potential advantages and limitations to this. While it might give you various expert perspectives, it might also confuse you and make it harder for you to manage. There could be multiple reasons as to why people do this.

Strategic Counselling

A person might be seeing two therapists for 2 different issues in their life. For example, the first therapist might be helping them overcome an eating disorder while the other one might address the underlying emotional dysregulation. In some cases, a therapist might also recommend another therapist as it might not be their area of expertise.

Longevity of Therapy

At times, an individual might feel the need to maintain longer therapeutic connections that last for years, while in other cases they might need help with some specific issues. In the latter scenario, they opt for brief counselling with someone new and terminate the session when the problem is effectively resolved. 

The Fear of Missing Out

Someone at a beginner stage of therapy might often doubt if their current therapist is suitable for them. As a result of this, they might visit multiple therapists and often wonder ‘What if there is even a better therapist than this one out there for me!’ This might delay their therapeutic process even further and cause problems in their other life domains such as work, family, relationships, etc.

Read More: The Psychology Behind FOMO

Location

One might be frequently traveling for work or other issues and hence it might be difficult for them to adhere to set schedules. If, in case, they have set locations for their travels, they may have a therapist at each location. In case of an emotional crisis, if they are not at the same location as their therapist, they might have to seek help from a new therapist. 

Benefits and Limitations of Seeing Multiple Therapists

Benefits

• The therapists might complement each other’s work. For example, one therapist is a trauma-focused therapist and is helping in reframing the traumatic memories. The other therapist, on the contrary, is helping to manage day-to-day anxiety and keep the individual functional for their activities of daily living.
• As mentioned in the above example, multiple therapists can help with different problems according to their expertise. Addressing specific problems with specialized experts might be extremely helpful.
• Different therapists bring different tools to the table. With the help of these tools, various issues can be addressed. While one can address emotional regulation, the other might help to foster a deeper self-awareness.
• Having sessions with multiple therapists might also assure constant support as they have restrictive schedules and might not always be available whenever one feels the need. If one therapist is inaccessible, the other one might fill the gap for the time being. 
• It also provides personalized support for complex needs. Say you and your spouse are working with a marriage counsellor on your issue regarding emotional unavailability. You can work with another therapist simultaneously on your emotional regulation for better expression.
• While seeing multiple therapists, an individual is less likely to be biased and get influenced by just one point of view. They get a broader sense and a big picture of the situation, which makes the decision-making more effective.

Limitations

It is often suggested not to work with multiple therapists simultaneously as it might be difficult to manage and get overwhelming. There are various limitations to this. Some of them are

• When you opt for multiple therapeutic approaches, chances of them clashing with each other are greater. You might not always end up getting the bigger picture and multiple perspectives might confuse you and result in overwhelming thoughts and feelings.
• The therapists might often not communicate or coordinate which results in them going in completely different directions of care. 
• If one does not schedule their sessions with all their therapists carefully, they might overlap, eventually leading to emotional exhaustion. 
• Seeking therapy is far from cheap. Going to multiple therapists might take a financial toll on you and the sessions might become less and less making it difficult for the therapeutic process to show its effectiveness.
• Along with money, this also has time constraints. This problem may have the same effect. It can add stress to your burden rather than reduce it.
• If the therapists do not coordinate properly, it can undo all your progress and make you start all over. It might feel like stagnation leading to frustration. 
• Seeing multiple therapists at the same time might create an emotional dependency that further might make it harder to transition out of long-term therapy.
• It might also lead a person to think that therapy is the ultimate solution to all their problems, and they might not work on other resources like coping mechanisms, building functional relationships, adopting emotional regulation, etc.

Note for the Therapists

If your client is engaged with multiple therapists, do not take it personally. Help the client as much as you can by tailoring to their specific issues. Set a tone of transparency with your client and clarify their goals. Assure your client that they are not doing anything wrong by seeing multiple therapists and that they can be open with you. Furthermore, try to collaborate with their other therapist(s) if and when necessary and appropriate. It can help you gain a better understanding and avoid burnout in your client. Lastly, be very mindful of your boundaries. Clarify what you will or won’t be doing. It helps to maintain ethics, uphold boundaries, and avoid competitiveness. 

Conclusion

Seeing multiple therapists is a deeply personal choice and should be done after careful consideration only. There are various types of therapies, like CBT, DBT, psychodynamic, art therapy, and humanistic therapy. Scheduling sessions with multiple therapists has its set of pros and cons. While it may help you to get several perspectives, those perspectives might not always be fruitful. Moreover, multiple therapists can help you with different problems simultaneously and prevent you from getting influenced by one approach. It might also ensure that you get constant support. On the other hand, it can also be extremely time and money-consuming. It can also overwhelm you due to schedules and opinions that do not work in your favor. Ultimately, the goal of a therapist should be the holistic growth of their client and address all of their issues.