Why are therapy sessions usually 50 minutes long? Why not longer, why not shorter?
I get this question from clients all the time. Here’s how I explain it.
Having a set session time allows clients to think intentionally about how they want to use those minutes. Do they want to touch on ten different topics, or do they want to focus deeply on just one or two? Trying to cover ten issues in 50 minutes can feel rushed and unproductive. On the other hand, narrowing the conversation to a few key concerns might mean postponing other topics until the next session.
Think of it as a decision-making warm-up. Even before tackling the bigger life decisions that brought them to therapy, clients are practicing the act of choosing. They are learning to decide what matters most in the moment, which topics to prioritize, and how to balance depth with breadth in a conversation.
The Power of Reflection and Decision-Making
Here’s the thing: we won’t know if those choices were helpful until the client reflects on the session afterward. Just like in life, we often can’t tell if a decision was right or wrong until we look back. And yes, even deciding not to decide is still a choice.
By embracing this freedom to choose, confronting anxieties through making decisions, and taking responsibility for those decisions, clients engage more consciously with their lives. The 50-minute therapy session becomes more than a block of time. It’s a contained space to practice self-awareness and decision-making in a safe environment.
Learning to Trust Your Intuition
To borrow from Sonke Ahrens in How to Take Smart Notes: “Here, gut feeling is not a mysterious force, but an incorporated history of experience.”
In simpler terms, the more decisions clients make and own in therapy, the more they gain experience in trusting their intuition—or that “gut feeling”—in everyday life. Over time, they learn to navigate complex situations, big or small, using both reflection and instinct.
So next time you wonder why therapy is 50 minutes, remember: it’s not an arbitrary number. It’s a carefully chosen timeframe that encourages focus, reflection, and growth. It’s a dedicated space to practice self-awareness, learn to trust your choices, and ultimately become more authentic with yourself.
About the Author
I am a BPS-accredited and SPS-accredited Counselling Psychologist with a Doctorate in Existential Psychology from the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling in London, U.K. My care philosophy is not to diagnose, label, or categorise but rather to work with the individual in front of me in the here and now.
My clinical credentials certainly play a significant role in defining my professional identity. But to foster a deeper connection and authenticity, I invite you to discover my other “Selves”, the various facets of who I am.
