Single Session Therapy: Why One Conversation Can Be Enough
Not every difficulty requires long-term therapy. Sometimes what you need is one focused conversation, space to think clearly, a different perspective, and the relief of saying out loud what’s been circling in your head. That’s what Single Session Therapy offers.
Single Session Therapy, sometimes called ad hoc therapy, is built around one meeting at a time. It could be 50, 75, or 90 minutes, you choose what works. The focus is on what matters most to you right now, rather than building a longer therapeutic narrative over time.
Some people find one session is enough. Others return occasionally when life presents a new difficulty and they’d like a thinking partner. For clients I’ve worked with before, it can be a useful way to check in, take stock, and return to daily life with more clarity. If it becomes clear during our work that longer-term therapy would serve you better, we can talk through what that might look like, and if I don’t have space that fits, I’ll help you think about onward options.
Everyday Situations Where SST Can Help
You don’t need to be in crisis to benefit from a single session. Many people use it for difficulties that feel too heavy to sit with alone but don’t necessarily need ongoing support. For example:
- Feeling uncertain about a work change, an interview, or a significant decision
- Untangling a difficult relationship dynamic, with a partner, family member, friend, or colleague
- Weighing up whether to say yes or no to something that matters
- Managing a period of self-doubt, perfectionism, or procrastination
- Wanting a confidential space to think through something without worrying about the effect on the people around you
- Needing a sounding board before making a choice you can’t easily reverse
A single session works best when there’s a specific question or difficulty you want to focus on, rather than an open-ended exploration of your life history. If you’re unsure whether it’s the right fit, get in touch and we can work that out together.
A Lower-Commitment Way to Start
If you’ve never had therapy before, a single session can be a useful starting point. There’s no pressure to commit to weekly sessions, and you get a genuine sense of what working together feels like before deciding whether to continue.
SST is different from longer-term psychodynamic therapy, which works with patterns over time and often explores your history in some depth. It keeps the focus on the present: what’s happening now, what you’d like to think about differently, and what might shift if you approached it from another angle.
Why One Session Can Be Enough
People often ask whether a single session can genuinely help. The research on SST suggests it often does, more consistently than most people expect. Many clients leave with a clearer sense of what they’re dealing with, relief at having named something that’s been stuck, and a different angle on a problem they’d been circling for weeks. That doesn’t always require months of work. Sometimes one good conversation is what’s needed.
Access and Availability
My longer-term therapy has a waiting list. Single Session Therapy offers a more flexible route into my diary, often with shorter lead times. If your availability is limited or you want support sooner rather than later, this can make practical sense alongside the clinical fit.
If you’d like to book a single session or find out more, get in touch at samanthamerry.co.uk/contacts.
Resources worth exploring:
- Single Session Therapy: Principles and Practice by Moshe Talmon, the foundational clinical text on the model, worth reading if you’re curious about the evidence base or considering SST as an approach
- On Being Stuck by Laraine Herring, for anyone who finds themselves returning to the same difficulty repeatedly and wondering why they can’t seem to move forward
- Speaking of Psychology, the APA podcast, which has accessible episodes on decision-making, self-doubt, and when and why therapy helps
- BACP’s Find a Therapist directory (bacp.co.uk), useful if you’re exploring options and want to compare approaches and practitioners
Samantha Merry is a BACP Senior Accredited Psychotherapist in private practice in Bromley, South East London, and a doctoral researcher at the University of Chester. She offers both long-term relational psychotherapy and Single Session Therapy for adults.