Why Clients “Dip” Between Sessions

By Dr. Shoshana Garfield, with Dr. Sasha Mitrofanov

Nothing Is Wrong

This article comes from a conversation about clients who struggle with anxiety.

A common experience is this:people feel better after a session… and then worse again later.

This is what we call a dip.

And the most important point is:

Nothing is wrong.

This is a normal and expected part of the process.

Why Progress Isn’t Linear

People often expect therapy to feel like steady improvement:

• better → better → better

But in reality, it looks more like:

• better → worse → better → worse → better

This happens because change doesn’t occur all at once.

It happens gradually, and it needs time to settle and integrate.

You Can’t Speed This Up

It’s tempting to think:

• “If I do more sessions, I’ll get better faster”

But it doesn’t work like that.

You can’t “cram” this process the way you might study for an exam.

Why?

Because:

• this is not just learning information

• this is rewiring patterns in the body and brain

And that kind of learning has its own pace.

The Body and Brain Need Time

The work you’re doing in therapy:

• has to be processed

• has to be practiced

• has to be repeated

Your system can only integrate change so fast.

And often, that’s slower than people want.

What Makes the Biggest Difference

The biggest factor in how quickly things change is not just the session.

It’s what happens between sessions.

If someone:

• only shows up once a week

• and only practices being kind to themselves in the session

→ progress will be slow

But if someone:

• practices between sessions

• applies what they’re learning

• keeps showing up for themselves

→ progress will be much faster

The Core Message

If you are dipping between sessions:

• it doesn’t mean therapy isn’t working

• it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong

It means:

you are in the process of change

And that process takes time.