Keep in Mind That the Best Time for Your Client to Judge if They Need More Help Is When They Have Had an Opportunity to Reflect on What They Learned from the Session, to Digest This Learning, to Implement What They Learned and to Let Time Pass a Little

In Chapter 24 , I highlighted that one way to view the session in SST is that it consists of three phases: a pre-conversation phase, the conversation itself and a post-conversation phase. It is only at the end of the post-conversation phase that the client will know whether they need further assistance or are satisfied with what they have achieved through the SST process. Consequently, with few exceptions, do not offer your client another session (meaning another conversation) immediately after the current one, even if they request it. You might think this implies that therapy is being led by you (i.e., therapist-led) rather than the client (i.e., client-led), but when considering this issue, bear in mind the following. At the end of the conversation, your client has experienced two of the three phases of single-session therapy. This is akin to them visiting their GP and being prescribed a course of antibiotics lasting seven days, then returning on day five for more medication. The GP would rightfully advise that, on day five, they have not yet experienced the full therapeutic effect of the medication.