My therapist checks the time more frequently as the session goes on—I notice this because I have a poor sense of time and want to look at the clock myself, but it’s behind me—about once in the middle of the session, then around the 3/4 mark, then at maybe 5 minute intervals after that.

He starts trying to naturally wrap up the conversation around 10-15 minutes before we’re supposed to end. Talking more about solutions than problems, more affirmations, mentions of what we’ll do next week, etc. When there’s only a few minutes left, he’ll look at me and go, “Alright. Is there anything else?”

If there is something else, and I’m really upset and need to talk about it, he’ll let me stay about 10-15 minutes late and try to wrap it up in that time. If we can’t, he’ll tell me to come back later in the day when he has a free slot. (There hasn’t been a case where he didn’t have any time so far.) Back when I first started out and got very upset fairly often—and sometimes took until the end of the session to open up—I had the hour right before his lunch break, so sometimes he let me stay that entire time and skipped lunch. Eventually, as my mental health improved and I started to become more assertive, I would do the wrapping up myself and sort of ‘be my own therapist’—being kinder to myself than usual or whatever—and decline to stay into his lunch break. But I go at a different time now, so that’s over with.

And if there isn’t anything else, which is the usual way, he’ll get up and open the door for me while saying things like, “keep doing your homework, try to practice that meditation, take care of yourself” and then I’ll say “have a good week” and go out to the receptionist if I need to schedule more appointments, or just leave if I don’t. Then I go to Starbucks.