What Even Is Progress in Therapy?

In the grey area between What I want and what I lack, somewhere we all have our meaning for what ‘Progress’ means to us. This progress, when moved to Therapy’s couch, gets complicated at both ends of the room, for the Client as well as for the Therapist. In this blog, we explore the difference between what progress is presumed to be and what it actually turns out to be.

From a Client’s perspective, when they walk into therapy the assumption of everything getting fixed within an hour leads their way. Progress in therapy for a client, according to them, looks like going down a waterslide - Effortless, Easy, and quite fun. From a Psychology student’s perspective, Progress is the magical spell they can cast on their client, where with every session they can see drastic improvements, like they have written a new code in the Matrix of Client.

A. How do we develop these Ideas?As Individuals we usually look for quick fixes in our lives for everything we can, as it obviously reduces our cognitive and emotional load of work, as things start to build distress, we usually seek out counselling and expect it to change things overnight. This comes from an innate cognitive nature  of laziness (yeah! It's a fact). As Students and Practitioners of Psychology, we practice empathy and are wired to build an understanding towards the client, and its this Therapist-Client relationship, that drives us to expect things get all better for our clients, as we try to help them, and hence we presume The idea of Progress in therapy for our client.

B. How do these Ideas shape sessions and perceptions?

For Clients, this determines everything - From their collaboration to their motivation and compliance towards therapy, all of it relies on the basic fact of what progress means to them and how they see it for the given sessions. As a Client, if I don't perceive the changes I am making as Progress, not only would I feel less motivation to continue therapy, my perception for therapy as a process would also lean on the negative axis. As practioners and students, we see signs and symptoms (some we observe, some client reported) during our sessions, and as sessions proceed, we expect the Client to get better, and our definition of what progress  and getting better in that subjective context means, define everything - from how we approach The Client to how we approach the concerns or the therapy itself, what we pick and drop out of the basket. It’s safe to state ‘The idea of Progress plays a key role in determining the effectiveness of therapy for both ends of the room - The Client and The Therapist.’

C. Defining Progress!

The idea of Progress, is best defined when the subjectivity of the concept ‘Progress’ is respected, hence for every session, every client and every practitioner The Concept of Progress can mean different things, but at core is ‘A Change’, even stability or stillness in condition is a change; sounds ironic, but not when you realize the fact that ‘Progress’ as a concept differs in each context, so to put a hardcore objective explanation to this concept, would be something similar an attempt to tame ocean waves. Progress can worsen symptoms and triggers, it can also increase self awareness, you see it's not linear, it's just like Humans - ‘Subjective and Contextual’.

D. When Progress Doesn’t Look Like Progress

Sometimes, you come to therapy thinking things will start feeling lighter — and instead, all the dust starts rising. Feelings you thought you buried show up uninvited, and suddenly you’re not “better,” you’re just... tired, emotional, or weirdly irritated for no reason. Progress, huh?

Here’s the thing — this is part of progress. The disorientation, the questioning, the messy reflection — it's like shaking a bottle that’s been still for too long. It’s not always a grand revelation; sometimes it’s just the quiet discomfort of becoming more honest with yourself.

And in the other chair, if you’re someone sitting through sessions wondering if your presence even helps, or if your client’s confusion means you missed something — take a breath. This isn’t a glitch in the process. It's what the process looks like when it’s working. Progress doesn’t walk in with a banner. Sometimes it sulks in through the side door wearing yesterday’s clothes.

E. So… What Is Progress, Really?

Maybe the only wrong way to define progress is to expect it to look the same every time.

Progress could be feeling more, not less. It could be choosing to respond instead of react — even if the reaction still flares up in your head. It might be not ghosting your therapist after a tough session. It could be the day a client laughs, genuinely, after weeks of silence. Or the day you, as a budding therapist, let go of your inner “fixer” and just sit with someone, fully.

At its heart, progress is movement — even if it circles back, slows down, or takes detours. And just because it doesn’t look dramatic or Instagrammable, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Sometimes, the most radical change is just staying.

So no, it won’t be linear. It won’t always be pretty. But if there’s more awareness, more honesty, more breathing space — something’s shifting.

And that, in its quiet, stubborn way, is progress.

A Gentle Suggestion

It might help — just a thought — to talk about what progress actually means early on. For both ends of the room. A simple conversation about what the client hopes for, what “better” looks like in their world, or even what small shifts would feel meaningful… can go a long way.

Defining progress together doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing, but it does help everyone row in the same direction. And sometimes, that clarity is what keeps the process feeling real — even when it’s hard.