Health

Digging Out of a Therapy Rut

Published

12 months ago

March 6, 2025

Therapy has been a part of Katerina Kelly’s weekly routine since elementary school, when a teacher suggested counseling for the 8-year-old.

At the time, Katerina’s autism was affecting their ability to manage time, make decisions and socialize. And for many years, the therapist seemed helpful. But once college rolled around, things changed.

“I always left counseling feeling either worse than I started — or numb,” said Mx. Kelly, 29, who lives in Natick, Mass, and uses they/them pronouns.

The skills that Mx. Kelly’s therapist had taught her in childhood weren’t translating as well now that she was older. In other words, they had hit a rut — the therapy, and the therapist, were not producing the desired results.

A therapy rut can feel disheartening, but it doesn’t have to end your pursuit of better mental health. We asked psychologists how to identify whether you’ve reached a sticking point and what to do about it.

What exactly is a therapy rut?

If you’ve hit a rut, you may feel as if your therapy sessions have stalled or become unhelpful, said Jameca Woody Cooper, president of the Missouri Psychological Association.

You may be emotionally disconnected from your therapist or less trusting of their plan. Perhaps you’re uncomfortable and tense during therapy, or you’ve started to dread or miss appointments, Dr. Woody Cooper added.

A rut can translate into “increased irritability while you’re in session, or a feeling of being misunderstood,” she said.

There are many reasons a rut can happen, the experts said:

You’ve made as much progress as you can in therapy at this time.
You would benefit from a different therapist or approach.
You need a new therapy goal.
You don’t need sessions as frequently as you did in the past.
Your expectations aren’t aligned with those of your therapist.
You’re not ready to explore past trauma or a difficult issue.

Mx. Kelly had experienced some of these roadblocks in her relationship with her childhood therapist.

“When I did try to bring up new things I was told we could work on it in the ‘next session,’ but that never came to be,” they said. “I hit a point where I started feeling so low.”

So Mx. Kelly began searching for a new therapist — it took more than six months, but they found someone who took their insurance and was a better fit.

If you’re feeling stuck, your therapist will ideally sense it too, said Regine Galanti, a therapist in Long Island who specializes in treating anxiety with exposure therapy.

“When I’m having the same conversations for more than two weeks in a row — that makes my warning bells start to go off,” she said.

That’s when it’s time to re-evaluate a client’s therapy goals, she added.

What can you do about a rut?

Don’t jump the gun by quitting therapy after one or two unproductive sessions, experts said.

“It’s unfortunately not uncommon to occasionally have a therapy session that feels like a dud,” said Alayna Park, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Oregon.

But if after three or four sessions you feel like you haven’t learned any new coping skills or gained a better understanding of your problem, then it’s time to speak up, either during the session or in an email.

Dr. Park suggested a few ways to kick off the discussion: “I feel like my progress has stalled,” or “I would like to transition to learning new or different coping skills,” or simply: “I feel like I’m in a therapy rut.”

It’s also valuable to ask your therapist how many sessions you might need, what your progress ought to look like and how your therapist is measuring it, said Bethany A. Teachman, a professor of psychology and the director of clinical training at the University of Virginia.

Although it can make some people feel uneasy to voice their concerns, the experts said, a good therapist will not get angry or annoyed.

“Good therapy empowers patients” to do hard things, Dr. Teachman said.

How do you know if it’s time to take a break?

If you’ve talked with your therapist about your concerns and nothing has changed, you may want to consider taking a break.

Stepping away can offer “a sense of agency, and time to evaluate if the current therapeutic relationship is the correct one,” Dr. Woody Cooper said.

During this break, you can take time to think about your feelings and behavior, explore different types of therapy or try out another therapist, she added.

Annie Herzig, an author and illustrator who lives in Fort Collins, Colo., decided to take a step back after a few months of seeing a new therapist, when she hadn’t noticed any improvement in her mood.

Ms. Herzig, 43, finally sent her therapist an email saying she wasn’t getting what she needed from their sessions.

Taking time away was helpful — Ms. Herzig found a different therapist who she has now been seeing for four years.

“I feel energized at the end,” Ms. Herzig said of their sessions together. “Even if I cry my eyes out.”

Click to comment

Health

Heart disease threat projected to climb sharply for key demographic

Published

12 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Heart disease threat projected to climb sharply for key demographic

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.

The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.

More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.

The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.

As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.

The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)

Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”

“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.

NEARLY 90% OF AMERICANS AT RISK OF SILENT DISEASE — HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW

“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)

Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”

The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.

The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.

DOCTOR SHARES 3 SIMPLE CHANGES TO STAY HEALTHY AND INDEPENDENT AS YOU AGE

“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”

Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.

Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)

Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.

The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”

“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”

“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)

“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”

The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.

“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”

Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.

Health

Vanessa Williams, 62, Opens up About Weight Loss and HRT After Menopause

Published

23 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Vanessa Williams, 62, Opens up About Weight Loss and HRT After Menopause

Vanessa Williams Opens up About Weight Loss and HRT | Woman’s World

Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items.

Use escape to exit the menu.

Create a free account to access exclusive content, play games, solve puzzles, test your pop-culture knowledge and receive special offers.
Already have an account? Login

Health

Common vision issue linked to type of lighting used in Americans’ homes

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Common vision issue linked to type of lighting used in Americans’ homes

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.

Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.

For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.

Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.

The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)

Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.

COMMON VISION ISSUE COULD LEAD TO MISSED CANCER WARNING, STUDY FINDS

“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”

High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)

The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.

In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.

Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)

“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”

The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.

Khloe Quill is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital. She and the lifestyle team cover a range of story topics including food and drink, travel, and health.