10 Strategies for Encouraging a Loved One to Stay in Therapy
Seeing a loved one struggle with therapy feels like you’re caught between wanting to help and not knowing what’s best. It’s painful to see them go through the ups and downs of treatment without the steady progress you know they’re capable of.
Many people who love someone going through therapy are confused about the best ways to support them in sticking with it.
We understand that the balance between offering encouragement and respecting their space is not easy. So, on this page, let’s discuss why it’s so important that your loved one keeps going to therapy. More importantly, we’ll share ten practical ways to help them stay committed without pushing too hard.
Why Is Ongoing Mental Health Treatment Important?
Mental health isn’t a “one-and-done” deal. You don’t go to therapy once or pop a pill for a week and expect everything to magically fix itself. It’s much like your physical health. If you had high blood pressure or diabetes, would you stop taking your medicines because your numbers looked better for a week? Probably not. Ongoing treatment is what keeps you stable.
Unfortunately, many people stop mental health treatment the moment they start feeling a bit better. This urge makes sense because it’s natural to move past painful memories. But pulling away from therapy too soon leads to relapse, and sometimes, it hits more severe the second time around.
This is why a major benefit of staying in treatment is that it prevents a crisis. Continuous support gives you a way to manage your stress before it becomes unmanageable. You get to talk through issues early and stay connected to people who are trained to notice subtle changes in your behavior.
Also, let’s not forget how much skill-building is involved in therapy. You don’t just talk — you learn how to cope, how to communicate better, how to regulate your emotions, and how to set healthy boundaries.1 Learning these skills is like learning a language where you need time and practice.
The same goes for medications. Your body metabolism changes over time, and so do your needs. Therefore, psychiatric medicines need gradual adjustment, which is another reason it’s important to stay in therapy.2
Family Role in Treatment Adherence
Constant reminders to take medication or go to therapy come from a place of concern. However, if those reminders start to feel like pressure or policing, they will backfire.
The person in therapy will start to withdraw because they feel like they’re being treated as a problem to fix rather than a person trying their best. This is why sometimes, the best support is knowing when to back off. It’s natural to check in constantly and want to fix things, but recovery requires autonomy. If your loved one is actively working with a therapist or psychiatrist, trust the process.
Another way families can help a loved one in treatment is by trying to understand their mental health condition. If your sibling has bipolar disorder, it’s a good idea to read about it. If your partner is in trauma therapy, try finding out what kind of support helps and what doesn’t. Research indicates that family psychoeducation helps avoid relapses in the long term.3
10 Strategies for Encouraging a Loved One to Stay In Therapy
Without further ado, let’s jump into ten methods you can apply to help family members continue mental health treatment.
1. Acknowledge Their Effort
It takes guts to open up about the messy, uncomfortable parts of your life in front of someone you barely know. When a loved one commits to therapy, even inconsistently, that effort deserves to be recognized.
You don’t have to offer over-the-top praise or cheer every time they mention their therapist. Rather, try genuinely noticing what they’re doing in response to therapy and make them feel seen for it.
Acknowledging effort also means not expecting perfection. There will be skipped sessions and moments where they question if therapy is even working. That’s normal. Try to meet such moments with encouragement and not react with frustration or disappointment.
The decision to stay in therapy is one people have to recommit to over and over. A little recognition from someone they love helps them stay firm in their decision.
2. Help Them Set Realistic Expectations
Many people enter into therapy thinking all you do is talk about your feelings, get some advice, and feel better. But anyone who’s stuck with therapy knows it doesn’t work like that. It’s slow and quite messy. And honestly, sometimes it feels like you’re getting worse before you start getting better.
If your loved one expects overnight results, they will feel super discouraged the moment it gets hard, usually right around session two or three. They need to know that not every session is going to feel like a breakthrough. Some weeks, they will come out feeling lighter. Other times, they will be exhausted afterward. Try helping them set this realistic expectation.
3. Encourage Reflection on Progress
Progress in mental health treatment is subtle. No one except the person in therapy can truly notice milestones like saying “no” without guilt or handling a bad day without shutting down. But you can help your loved one reflect on how far they’ve come. Help them look back at where they started and how they are doing things differently now.
If they journal or reflect privately in meditation, you can encourage those support strategies for treatment adherence. Don’t force them into gratitude mode or push toxic positivity. You just want to hold simple conversations where they realize that the uncomfortable work they’re doing in therapy is showing up in real life. It’s showing up in the way they speak, set boundaries, manage stress, and handle conflict.
4. Be Understanding of Setbacks
Setbacks in therapy are very much a part of the process. There will be dips, plateaus, full-on relapses, and all of it is human.
The best way you can support your loved one during a setback is by not making it a big deal. What they need most in those moments isn’t a pep talk or a reminder of how well they were doing last month. They need someone who doesn’t make them feel like they’ve messed up or let anyone down. During such times, reminding them of how they handled a similar situation so much better the last time will come off as judgemental, even if that’s not your intention.
A more supportive angle you can try is to let them know that they’ve come through tough times before, and you believe they’ll get through it this time too.
5. Help With Logistical Barriers
Offer to drive them if they don’t have a car or aren’t comfortable driving.- If they are anxious about going alone, you could go with them and wait nearby at a coffee shop.
- Offer to help them find time in their schedule and remind them of sessions.
- If they’re a parent, try to babysit or help find someone who can.
- If the sessions are virtual, help them set up a small private corner for their session or get them the required tech gear.
- If cost is a barrier, help them research sliding scale therapists or insurance coverage.
6. Share Stories of Success
Sharing stories of people who have been in similar situations and came out stronger on the other side has a huge role in motivating someone to remain in counseling. We are not talking about vague stories about someone who went through the same and now they’re fine. Try talking about more relatable, grounded experiences where the real hard work that makes therapy transformative is as important as the final outcome.
Find stories from people they admire or at least relate to. It could be an athlete, a musician, a content creator, an actor, or anyone who has recently opened up about mental health. However, be mindful of overselling therapy by sharing stories where people have seemingly turned their lives around overnight.
7. Use Positive Reinforcement
When someone is in therapy, they’re doing the hardest emotional work of their life. That’s why it’s important to call attention to the strides they’re making, even if those strides are small. Positive reinforcement means recognizing and rewarding good behaviors to build their confidence and encourage continued effort.
You’re reinforcing the idea that their efforts matter and that they are indeed moving forward – even if it doesn’t always feel like it. It does not mean generic compliments or pretending everything is perfect. Instead, it’s helpful to genuinely encourage them to keep going based on their previous efforts.
8. Help Them Set a Reward System
Any incentive, no matter how small, helps the brain make a positive connection with showing up and preventing therapy dropout. The rewards don’t have to be extravagant or expensive. All you have to do is sit down with them and ask what feels like a treat and make it happen. A day out with friends, buying that book they’ve been eyeing, cooking together, or going to their favorite restaurant — it could be anything.
Also, don’t make the reward system all about perfect performance. When someone in therapy misses a session or has a rough week, they’re likely already feeling down. During such times, a reward for trying, even though things didn’t go as planned, reinforces the idea that showing up in itself is something to be proud of.
9. Gently Check In After Sessions
When your loved one comes back from a therapy session, it’s natural to wonder how it went. You are curious if they had a breakthrough or if they’re feeling lighter because you care about them. But it’s not a good idea to jump on them with questions the moment they walk back in. Give them some breathing room when they get home. Once they seem settled, you can ease into it.
Make the conversation about them and their immediate needs. Sometimes, they will want to talk about it right away. Other times, they will be too emotionally spent to share how it went. Respect their feelings either way.
10. Stay Non-Judgmental
People in mental health treatment don’t have the best control over the pace of their healing or their emotions. Whenever your loved one opens up to you, always listen to them with empathy and avoid jumping straight into advice mode.
Let them share their feelings even when you think it’s no big deal. Also, let go of your own expectations from their journey. There will be days when their progress will not match someone else’s. Or, they will be stuck on something for a while, and you will have to be there for them despite it not making sense to you.
So it’s a good idea to be mindful of how you react in conversations around their treatment. Shock, criticism, disappointment, or unsolicited advice may make things worse.
Find Therapy That Suits Your Family at Mission Connection
Helping a family member continue mental health treatment boils down to showing up authentically and making small, consistent efforts that signal you’re in their corner.
But you can also help them by guiding them to a supportive and high-quality treatment center. Many times, treatment adherence is directly linked to treatment quality. You want to ensure that poor-quality treatment doesn’t get in the way of your loved one’s adherence.
That’s where Mission Connection comes in. We blend in-person and telehealth services with licensed therapists who provide individual, experiential, and group therapy through evidence-based practices.
Call Mission Connection at 866-840-6480 and speak to a specialist today. Or get started online.
References
- Bolden, G. B., Angell, B., & Hepburn, A. (2019). How clients solicit medication changes in psychiatry. Sociology of Health & Illness, 41(2), 411–426. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12843
- Hoet, A. C., Burgin, C. J., Eddington, K. M., & Silvia, P. J. (2017). Reports of Therapy Skill Use and Their Efficacy in Daily Life in the Short-term Treatment of Depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 42(2), 184. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5873317/
- Iuso, S., Severo, M., Trotta, N., Ventriglio, A., Fiore, P., Bellomo, A., & Petito, A. (2023). Improvements in Treatment Adherence after Family Psychoeducation in Patients Affected by Psychosis: Preliminary Findings. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 13(10), 1437–1437. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm13101437
- Lippman, M. R., & Motta, R. W. (1993). Effects of positive and negative reinforcement on daily living skills in chronic psychiatric patients in community residences. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 49(5), 654–662. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(199309)49:5%3C654::aid-jclp2270490507%3E3.0.co;2-b
