If you’ve ever left a therapy session feeling motivated to try something new—only to get home and not follow through—you’re not alone. In fact, this is one of the most common experiences clients share: “I know what I should be doing, but I just can’t seem to do it.”

Here’s the truth: understanding a skill is one thing—putting it into practice is another. And there are real, human reasons why following through is tough, even when the intention is there. In fact, these challenges are so universal that I recently recorded two podcast episodes exploring this exact topic—where myself and a fellow therapist challenged each other to follow through with the very skills we often suggest to clients. Let’s just say…life happened.

🎙️ You can check out both episodes here:
The Unfiltered Therapists Podcast

Common Barriers Clients Face (That We Faced Too)

1. Life Is Busy, and Therapy Skills Take Effort

Trying something new takes energy—and when you’re juggling work, family, and daily responsibilities, that energy can be in short supply. It’s easy to think, “I’ll try that tomorrow,” but tomorrow turns into next week... and nothing changes.

Real talk: Therapy asks you to change patterns, and that requires effort and intention. That’s hard when you’re already stretched thin.

2. Fear of Discomfort or Failure

Even small changes can feel risky. What if it doesn’t work? What if I do it wrong? What if I try and still feel bad? These fears can make it easier to avoid trying in the first place.

In our podcast we discussed how often we’ve seen clients mentally talk ourselves out of doing the thing—not because it was impossible, but because it felt uncomfortable.

3. Perfectionism and All-or-Nothing Thinking

You don’t have to do a skill perfectly for it to help—but perfectionism tells us otherwise. Many clients (and therapists!) fall into the trap of thinking, “If I can’t do this exactly right, why bother?” This can lead to avoidance, procrastination, and self-criticism.

Pro tip: Progress, not perfection, is the goal.

4. Forgetfulness and Lack of Structure

Let’s be honest—life is chaotic, and unless you have a system in place to remind you to use that grounding exercise, journal prompt, or coping skill... it often gets forgotten. That’s why building reminders, accountability, and structure into your day makes a big difference.

In our challenge, we both realized how easy it was to forget our own goals, and how powerful it was to have someone check in and say, “Hey, did you try that thing?”

Therapists Are Human Too (and That’s the Point)

Doing this challenge on the podcast was a way for us to model what it’s like to have good intentions, face real-life barriers, and still try to show up for ourselves. It reminded us—and hopefully reminds you—that change is a process, and struggling with follow-through doesn’t mean failure. It means you’re human.

How to Support Yourself With Follow-Through

✔ Start small – Choose one simple skill or action to focus on.
✔ Build reminders – Use alarms, sticky notes, or a check-in buddy.
✔ Track progress – Reflect weekly on what worked, what didn’t, and why.
✔ Give yourself grace – Struggle is part of growth.
✔ Talk about it in therapy – Your therapist wants to help you understand the barriers, not just hand you a list of skills.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve ever felt like you’re “failing” at therapy because you can’t follow through, you’re not failing—you’re learning. The gap between knowing and doing is where real growth happens, and you don’t have to cross it alone.

Want to hear more about how this played out for two real-life therapists?
🎧 Listen to our episodes here:The Unfiltered Therapists Podcast – we promise you’ll feel seen, validated, and maybe even inspired to try one small thing today.

And if you’re ready to explore these barriers in therapy, let’s connect. I’d love to help you build strategies that work for you—in real life, not just in theory.