Why Summer Is the Perfect Time to Start Therapy
(Even If You're Not in Crisis)
Summer — the season of laid-back, fun, sun-kissed days.
This time of year often brings a collective exhale: school is out, vacations are planned, and life finally feels a little slower. With longer days and more breathing room, we often make space for things we've been putting off…including ourselves.
But what if this slower season is actually the ideal time to grow inward, not just outward?
Here’s the thing about therapy - it shouldn’t be saved as a last resort to struggles you face. Some of the best work happens when life feels like things are going okay. So here is why summer is the perfect time to schedule your first sessions:
1. You Have More Mental Space
As the outside chaos of life quiets down you are finally able to hear yourself think. That can be the moment when buried emotions start to rise to the surface.
Summer offers breathing room to process these thoughts without the added pressure of packed calendars or academic interference. Often, it’s in the quiet that we notice what we’ve been pushing away.
Starting therapy in the summer can give you a more relaxed entry point, time to build trust, reflect, and explore what you tend to avoid when things get hectic.
2. It’s a Season of Transition
Naturally, summer is a time of “in between.” It’s not quite the start of something new (cue High School Musical album), but it’s also no longer what has been. These transitions might include preparing for a new school year, natural shifts in family dynamics, or adjusting to the new rhythms of our life stages. Transitions such as these can often stir up questions, self-doubt, or even grief. Therapy helps you navigate the in-between instead of getting lost in it.
3. It’s Easier to Build Consistency
Without the overwhelming rush and schedule we face in fall and winter, summer offers a more flexible start to therapy. You have time to build rapport with a new therapist. This is important for establishing trust and finding your vibe within the relationship. This creates a steady foundation and a built routine of attending therapy sessions before the busyness sets in. It’s often easier to build trust in therapy when life isn’t chaotic, when there’s space to show up consistently and settle in.
4. Therapy is More Than Just What’s “Wrong”
You don’t need a crisis in order to seek therapy support. Therapy is a powerful tool for getting to know yourself, exploring relationships, setting future goals, and so much more. Going to therapy can help you heal from the past in a slow and supported way. You can learn to enjoy life more fully in all seasons, not just the laid back time of summer.
Think of it like going to the gym: you shouldn’t wait until you are totally out of shape to start. Therapy works the same way, it is meant to help you grow and stretch and become stronger! Even when things are going okay, therapy helps keep you emotionally and mentally strong. This is not just reactive, but resilient.
5. This Might Be the First Time You Can Focus on You!
Especially if you are a parent, caregiver, student, or school staff, summer might be the first season in a while where your time is not dedicated and dictated by everyone else’s needs. Starting therapy now can be a powerful act of self-prioritization.
You deserve to have the time and space to be about you and your needs. By getting started now, you are set up for the busy schedule that comes with fall and winter with extra support in the therapy space.
Is Now the Right Time?
There is no wrong time to start therapy, but if you have been waiting for the “right time” then summer might just be it for you. There is no need to wait until you have a breakdown or are going through a crisis. You deserve support, reflection, and healing. Even when the sun is shining!
Ready to start exploring therapy in a low-stress season? I offer virtual therapy for clients in Michigan, just send a message through my contact page and we can schedule a 15-minute consultation so you can learn more about working together.
