This question suggests a misconception that therapy is like going to an auto mechanic and getting a repair. It doesn’t work that way.
Your life is a dynamic process, always shifting and changing. Even if you stay in your bed, your emotional states are always in flux. It may be that you are often, or even always depressed, at this stage of your life. No matter how happy you are, you will likely experience moments of sadness now and then.
If you have ever pursued an art, such as music, or painting, or dance, or drama, or any sport, or studied something, you will likely understand that most things are open ended in how far you can progress. Few people reach their potential…..in anything.
Therapy is about reaching your potential. If you take piano lessons, but after 2 months you still are pretty lousy, what do you do? You can, if course, give up, in which case you will likely remain a lousy piano player, or you can keep on trying. Maybe you change the way you practice or study. Maybe you change your teacher. Maybe you listen to different music.
The point is, if you continue to apply yourself to something, you will most likely eventually get better at it. If something about the way you are applying yourself isn’t working, you do it a different way. Therapy is no different.
What does it mean to be already in therapy but still be depressed? Are you in therapy for a month, a year, 5 years? I’m already in art school, but I’m not painting like Van Gogh or Picasso. Should you drop out? Maybe you should give it 4 years, and then paint for another 10 (for starters) before you decide you are never going to be any good.
Therapy is a process with no clear end point, because chances are, you haven’t reached your potential. Do you have to remain in therapy? No, it’s a choice. For some people it may be more important than others, but if you want to get help reaching your potential, which likely includes reducing your symptoms of depression as much as is possible for you, then I recommend you keep on working at it. Maybe you need to have some discussions with your psychiatrist and your therapist, to try to figure out what’s not working, and what you might do, to get better results.
To find out more about my services click here: Therapy for Depression