How Long Does Trauma Therapy Take?

There are two honest answers to this question. For the structured treatments that have been tested in trials, there are published session numbers. For open-ended therapy, there are not.

This article gives the numbers that exist, says who published them, and marks where the evidence stops. None of the figures is a promise. They describe how treatments are designed and how groups of people in studies responded.

How long do the guideline-recommended PTSD treatments last?

About three months of weekly sessions, in most official descriptions. The 2023 guideline from the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense (VA/DoD) gives its strong recommendation to three trauma-focused therapies: cognitive processing therapy (CPT), prolonged exposure (PE) and EMDR. Published lengths for these and related treatments are:

• CPT. The VA's National Center for PTSD says it "usually takes 12 weekly sessions, so treatment lasts about 3 months. Sessions are 60 minutes each for individuals or 90 minutes each for a group." The American Psychological Association's page on PTSD treatments says it "is generally delivered over 12 sessions."
• PE. The two sources differ on session length. The VA says PE "usually takes 8-15 weekly sessions, so treatment lasts about 3 months. Sessions are 60-90 minutes each." The American Psychological Association says it is "Typically provided over a period of about three months with weekly individual sessions. Sixty- to 120-minute sessions are usually needed."
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The American Psychological Association's page says it "is typically delivered over 12-16 sessions in either individual or group format."
• EMDR. The VA describes "About 3 months of weekly 50- to 90-minute sessions."
• Written exposure therapy. Much shorter. The VA says it "usually takes 5 weekly sessions, so treatment lasts about 1 month." VA/DoD suggests this therapy, a weaker rating than its strong recommendation. The American Psychological Association's 2025 guideline makes no recommendation for or against it.

NICE, the United Kingdom's guideline body, says trauma-focused CBT and EMDR should each "typically be provided over 8 to 12 sessions, but more if clinically indicated, for example if they have experienced multiple traumas." That is UK guidance, not a U.S. rule. What these treatments are, and how their evidence compares, is covered in types of trauma therapy and what the research says.

Does everyone finish in that many sessions?

No. A 2012 study let the length of CPT vary with each person's progress. It enrolled 100 men and women with PTSD who had survived interpersonal trauma. Of the 50 participants who completed the flexible treatment, 58% reached the study's criteria for a good end state before the 12th session, 8% at session 12, and 34% between sessions 12 and 18. The authors wrote that people respond at a variable rate, "with significant benefit from additional therapy when indicated."

The limit matters. Those percentages describe the 50 people who completed treatment, out of a combined treated sample of 69. Dropout from PTSD treatment is discussed in the article on types of trauma therapy linked above.

What is known about complex presentations?

Less than for PTSD in general. Complex PTSD is a diagnosis in the World Health Organization's international ICD-11 system. It is not a separate diagnosis in the DSM, the U.S. system, where, the VA says, "it is captured by the diagnosis of PTSD." Complex PTSD: what it is and how it differs from PTSD explains the term.

The VA's public page on complex PTSD says trauma-focused treatments also treat complex PTSD and "generally take 3-4 months." It adds: "It may be that once PTSD has been treated, some other concerns (such as depression or relationship health) still need to be addressed." The same page notes that there has been less research on complex PTSD.

NICE, in its UK guidance, tells clinicians treating complex PTSD to increase the duration or the number of therapy sessions according to the person's needs. No guideline reviewed for this guide says how much longer. So the honest position is that more time may be needed, and no official source has put a number on it.

What about therapy without a set number of sessions?

Here the evidence runs out. The figures above are protocol lengths for structured, PTSD-focused treatments. No source reviewed for this guide gives a typical length for psychodynamic or other open-ended trauma therapy, and the research for this guide found no trial of long-term or open-ended psychodynamic therapy for PTSD or complex PTSD.

That fits a wider gap. Psychodynamic therapy has been studied much less for PTSD than the trauma-focused therapies. The VA/DoD guideline and the American Psychological Association's 2025 guideline both find insufficient evidence to recommend for or against it. That means too little good research. It is not proof that the therapy fails, and it is not an endorsement.

For psychotherapy in general, not PTSD specifically, an American Psychological Association page dated 2017 says that "on average 15 to 20 sessions are required for 50 percent of patients to recover as indicated by self-reported symptom measures." It says patients and therapists sometimes prefer to continue for longer, and that people with co-occurring conditions or certain personality difficulties "may require longer treatment (e.g., 12-18 months)." The page cites no studies for these figures.

How is progress judged?

By tracking it, and by talking about it. The VA says that with good PTSD care, "your provider will monitor (or track) how you are doing. One way to do this is to have you fill out a brief questionnaire to measure your progress from time to time." It adds: "If you are not seeing the results you want, you and your provider can talk about other treatment options to try."

The American Psychological Association's page says that if you believe there is insufficient progress after a reasonable period of treatment, "it is always appropriate to discuss your treatment with another therapist and/or request a re-evaluation of the treatment plan." The practice's guide to signs therapy is working looks at the question for therapy in general.

Some things should not wait for a review of progress. If you have thoughts of suicide, call or text 988, or call 911 in an emergency.

How long does therapy with Dr. Rabin last?

This guide cannot give a length for her work. Sessions are usually weekly and last 45 to 50 minutes. How long the work might last is something to discuss with her.

Her trauma therapy is psychodynamic, attachment-based, trauma-informed and mindfulness-based, guided by safety, pacing and the therapeutic relationship. The work moves at the client's pace and builds trust and stability before approaching painful material. As the section above says, no typical length has been published for psychodynamic trauma therapy.

This guide makes no claim about whether she offers any of the named protocols above. You can ask about that, and about how she thinks about length, on a free consultation of about 15 minutes, requested through the contact page. Because length affects cost, the fees and insurance page is worth reading first.

Keep reading

• What to Expect in Trauma Therapy
• How to Choose a Trauma Therapist
• Trauma-Informed vs. Trauma-Focused Therapy: What the Labels Mean
• All trauma guides

Sources

• American Psychological Association, PTSD Treatments (last updated April 2025)
• VA National Center for PTSD, Prolonged Exposure (PE) for PTSD (last updated September 25, 2026)
• VA National Center for PTSD, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD (last updated September 25, 2026)
• VA National Center for PTSD, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for PTSD (last updated September 25, 2026)
• VA National Center for PTSD, Written Exposure Therapy (WET) for PTSD (last updated September 25, 2026)
• NICE (UK), Post-traumatic stress disorder, NG116, Recommendations (2018)
• Galovski TE, Blain LM, Mott JM et al., Manualized therapy for PTSD: flexing the structure of cognitive processing therapy. J Consult Clin Psychol (2012)
• VA National Center for PTSD, Complex PTSD (last updated September 29, 2026)
• American Psychological Association, How Long Will It Take for Treatment to Work? (2017)
• VA National Center for PTSD, Signs of Good PTSD Care (last updated September 25, 2026)
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder (June 2023)
• American Psychological Association, Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Adults (2025)

Last reviewed October 2026. This guide is general information, not medical advice or a diagnosis. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988, or call 911 in an emergency.