Summer will be here before we know it, which brings with it more time spent outside, more flexibility in schedules, more travel, and more therapy. Wait, more therapy? Yes! Summer can be a great time to do some focused, short-term therapy, particularly for college students who are returning home for a few months.
For families with college students, the months of May through September can be a time of reconnection, a return to family traditions, favorite meals, and time spent together. At the same time, summer can also bring with it tensions and frustrations as college students (and their families!) struggle with the adjustment to moving back home and living together under the same roof after a school year apart. College students may be missing the freedom or friendships they had at school, or they may be literally missing sessions with their campus therapist. All of these reasons mean that having extra – or continued – support over the summer for college students can be incredibly beneficial.
If you have a college student returning home, or if you are a college student returning home, here are 5 things to know about short-term therapy:
- Short-term therapy can be very effective (Leichsenring et al., 2004; Mertens, 2023).
- Many therapists have openings for college students over the summer as their school-year clients pause sessions.
- It’s best to have a specific goal to focus on (more on that below).
- To find a therapist with openings, you can use a site like Psychology Today to match your insurance, location, and therapist availability. Additionally, here at CFC we have many clinicians who love to work with college students. Please contact our intake team to be matched with someone, or browse our therapist bios and reach out directly.
- Note that depending on state guidelines, a therapist may not be able to continue seeing a college student who returns to school out of state after the summer is over.
Short-term therapy works best when the client has a specific, present-time goal to focus on. Four examples of goals college students may have are:
- Improving family communication: now that I’m getting older, maybe I can communicate my frustrations with my parents in a more productive way?
- Specific decision making: Should I change my major? Is it time to move on from a romantic relationship? Do I need to end a toxic friendship?
- Resourcing: what are the tools and techniques I can practice now to rely on when I am back at school and feeling stressed, down or dysregulated?
- Focusing on the present: instead of looking back at childhood to understand my lack of nurturing friendships, how can I build friendships now by creating a social network?
College students are no strangers to deadlines – often this is the very thing that keeps them focused! Working with a therapist for a few months over the summer for short-term therapy may be just what they need to stay on track. Oh, and one more tip: summer can also be a good time for extra support for parents. Don’t forget to put your own mask on first.
Reach out to CFC to get matched with a therapist for any of your therapy needs.
