Can Therapy Actually Help Your GPA?
Feel like you are too busy for therapy? Well, read this first. One hour a week might actually be the key to unlocking even more time and energy in your already overloaded schedule. You make time for class. You make time for work. But what about your mind? Therapy can actually improve academic performance, focus, and energy levels. Balancing classes, work, and mental health is exhausting, but just one hour a week can provide the space and tools you need to make it all more manageable. Flexible scheduling and short wait times make mental health support possible, even during midterms.
The “I Don’t Have Time” Myth
We’ve all had that feeling. Too many things to do and not enough time. It can feel like there is just never enough time in the day or week to get through all that life keeps throwing your way. As crazy as it sounds, sometimes the best way out of this feeling is to add just one more thing to your already busy schedule. Stress costs time. Being stressed about time can make this scenario even worse. Slowing down and taking a step back can give you the perspective you need to be even more productive.
Another issue with feeling like you don’t have enough time is that burnout impacts productivity. Working too hard can actually make you less productive. Stress and anxiety and fatigue all impact our ability to perform. Productivity suffers when we are not feeling our best or worrying about something else instead of focusing on the task at hand. Therapy for busy college students can help students use what little time they do have much more effectively. Being overwhelmed isn’t going to give you any more time, but having the tools to deal with those feelings can help you stay productive despite being so busy.
What Flexible Scheduling Actually Means
College mental health support at ALL IN can offer all sorts of flexible scheduling options for U of M (and every other local Minnesota college) students. Short wait times means that an hour of therapy is really only an hour. You can show up right before your appointment and get started right on time. Therapy for busy college students needs to be flexible, and short wait times are one way ALL IN can deliver.
Flexible Scheduling means online or in-person sessions are both available. This allows students to find the right time and space in their busy lives for some much needed mental health support. Online sessions allow students to avoid traveling costs and further time commitments. Having the option to work either online or in-person opens up many more options for student counseling schedules. You can even take an hour break from studying to do therapy during midterms.
Flexible scheduling also means no long-term commitment. Maybe every week is too much of a commitment. Once a month sessions or every other week allows students to squeeze the benefits of therapy into their busy schedule. You can also try therapy every week during less busy parts of your schedule and then switch to less intense schedules during your busiest months. Summer and winter breaks are great times to work on building up your skills and toolbox to help handle midterms and finals even better. Maybe you need even more support during those busy times and feel less need during the quieter parts of your schedule. Flexible scheduling at ALL IN can work with whatever your needs are to help support you on your mental health journey.
Therapy as a Performance Support Tool
Therapy can be a great tool to help support better performance. Mindfulness and other techniques can be worked on and improved in therapy. These types of tools help improve focus. Even just having a specific time and place to vent and escape your busy college student schedule can help improve focus throughout the week and improve performance. Therapy can also help improve focus by providing a break from your busy schedule. Having a space just for yourself can help make those busy days and weeks more manageable, which can boost performance as well.
Finding time in your busy college student schedule to make therapy a priority can help reduce anxiety. Stress and anxiety worsen everyday performance. Therapy provides tools to help reduce anxiety and stress. Just one session of therapy can help students better manage stress and anxiety, which will help boost performance. The tools you learn in therapy will stay with you outside of the therapy office as well. Finding time to improve yourself and your performance is worth it. Mental health support is academic support too.
A healthier mind leads to a healthier body. The mental health support that therapy supplies can help students get better sleep too. It is common advice to study the night before a test and to get a good night’s sleep. Sleep is important for how we learn. Good sleep supports better brain and body performance. Therapy can help manage and boost healthier sleeping habits, which can boost academic performance and your GPA as well.
Making It Work Practically
Flexible scheduling options at ALL IN means that you can squeeze therapy sessions into any part of your day. Before class is a great option for many students. Even if you aren’t an early riser, therapy before class can be a great way to start out the day. You still have time for classes, work, and studying the rest of the day, while also supporting your mental health. Just one morning a week can make a big impact.
Between shifts or between classes and jobs in the afternoon and evening are other great options to make therapy work practically into a busy college student’s schedule. Getting to a session before or after work shifts can be a great transition to other parts of your day. ALL IN has a few different locations throughout Minnesota and the twin cities that can work depending on where your job takes you throughout the day. Squeezing in an online session between classes or before work shifts is possible too. You can even work with your schedule to make sure you have an extra hour between things at least one day a week.
Maybe your evenings are the most free. Just one hour one night a week can make a big difference in your day to day performance and energy. We all use and need support. Mental health support is no different than academic support. Why wouldn’t you use every tool available to help yourself be your best? Evening therapy sessions might be most convenient for night owls. Even just taking an hour break from studying to jump into a session can have lasting benefits.
The Bottomline
You don’t have to be falling apart to deserve support. Balancing classes, work, and mental health is a constant challenge. Therapy can help support all of it. Just one hour a week can help boost performance and reduce anxiety. Therapy isn’t about being broken. It is about having support when you need it. Reach out to get help fitting therapy into your college schedule without falling behind.
FAQs (People Also Ask)
How often do I need therapy?
Even just one session is beneficial. Whatever best fits your schedule and your needs works.
Can I schedule therapy around exams?
Absolutely. ALL IN offers flexible scheduling options for each individual’s needs.
What if I need to reschedule?
No problem.
Is therapy a long-term commitment?
That is completely up to the client. Therapy is a great tool for both short-term and long-term work. It just depends on your goals.
Resources
McBride, E. E., & Greeson, J. M. (2023). Mindfulness, cognitive functioning, and academic achievement in college students:the mediating role of stress. Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.), 42(13), 10924–10934. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02340-z
Barbayannis, G., Bandari, M., Zheng, X., Baquerizo, H., Pecor, K. W., & Ming, X. (2022). Academic Stress and Mental Well-Being in College Students: Correlations, Affected Groups, and COVID-19. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 886344. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.886344
Rastogi, S., Gupta, S., Deepak, D., Mishra, B. N., Gore, R., & Singh, V. (2025). A Systematic Literature Review on Anxiety Among Undergraduate Students: Causes and Coping Strategies. Annals of neurosciences, 09727531251366078. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/09727531251366078
