Therapy Isn’t Linear, and That’s a Good Thing

(Progress in therapy can feel messy - and it’s actually a sign you’re healing)

If you’ve ever thought:
“I’ve been in therapy for weeks, why am I not magically fixed yet?” or “I thought I was making progress, but now I feel like I’m back at square one,”
you’re not alone.

Here’s the truth: healing isn’t a straight line.

It looks like detours, spirals, and moments of, “Oh no, not this again.” But that doesn’t mean you’re failing. In fact, it usually means you’re doing it right.

Healing Moves in Waves

Therapy isn’t about crossing a finish line. It’s about learning how to swim through the waves.

You might:

• Feel relief after a breakthrough… then feel raw the next day

• Circle back to old patterns with new awareness

• Discover new layers of a story you thought you’d already processed

This is growth. It’s not broken, it’s just human.

Why It Feels Messy Sometimes

Your brain and nervous system are designed to protect you. When you start therapy, you’re gently challenging old coping mechanisms, beliefs, and defences.

That can feel uncomfortable at first because you’re stretching into new ways of being.
And sometimes? That means you feel a little “wobbly” before you feel steady.

What This Means for You

Instead of measuring therapy progress like a straight line, imagine it like a spiral:

• Each loop might feel familiar…

• But every time you come back around, you’re higher up.

• You’re wiser, steadier, and closer to where you want to be.

How We Work With This Together

In therapy, we normalize the messy middle. We slow things down. We celebrate the small wins that don’t look “dramatic,” but change everything over time:

• Setting a boundary without apologizing for it

• Feeling your feelings instead of shutting them down

• Catching yourself in a pattern before it snowballs

These are proof that therapy is working, even when it doesn’t feel “linear.”

Final Thoughts

If therapy feels up and down, you’re not doing it wrong, you’re doing it honestly.

Healing is not about perfection. It’s about staying in the room with yourself, even when it’s hard, and trusting that every small step counts.

If you’re ready to begin your own beautifully non-linear journey, book a session here. I’ll walk with you through every loop of the spiral.