Healing Isn’t Linear: What Progress in Therapy Really Looks Like

When people think about healing, they often imagine a clear path, steady progress, fewer breakdowns, more good days than bad, and eventually, a sense of peace that sticks. But in reality? Healing is rarely that simple.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re taking one step forward and two steps back in therapy, you’re not alone. In fact, that experience is incredibly common, and completely normal.

Progress Doesn’t Always Feel Like Progress

Therapy isn’t about “fixing” yourself or reaching some perfect emotional state. It’s about building awareness, developing tools, and learning how to move through life with greater clarity and self-compassion.

That kind of growth can show up in unexpected ways, like:

• Feeling more emotional because you're actually allowing yourself to feel

• Setting boundaries and feeling guilty afterward, but doing it anyway

• Noticing old patterns, even if you’re not sure how to stop them yet

• Having a setback, but being able to talk about it instead of hiding it

  
  

Progress often looks and feels uncomfortable. That doesn’t mean you’re going backward, it means you’re digging into the real work.

Healing Is Not a Straight Line

You might leave one session feeling empowered and the next wondering if therapy is even helping. That’s not failure, it’s the natural rhythm of growth. Just like physical healing, emotional healing has flare-ups, tenderness, and days where you feel more raw than strong.

You’re not broken. You’re not doing it wrong. You’re in the process.

Small Wins Matter More Than You Think

One of the most powerful things therapy can offer is the ability to recognize and celebrate the small shifts, the moments that may not seem dramatic but mean everything:

• Catching your inner critic mid-sentence

• Choosing rest over burnout

• Reaching out instead of isolating

• Saying “no” without explaining why

These small wins are signs of real, sustainable change. Over time, they build the foundation for long-term resilience and self-trust.

Wherever You Are Is Okay

If you’re in therapy and feeling discouraged, take a breath. You don’t have to be “better” by now. There’s no timeline for healing, and no gold stars for doing it quickly. What matters is that you’re showing up, trying, reflecting, and growing, even if it’s slow, even if it’s hard.

Healing isn’t linear, but it’s still happening. And you’re not alone in it.