Slow Living and Deep Psychotherapy: Why Taking Your Time Leads to Lasting Change

A Shift Away from Instant Gratification

It seems we are witnessing a shift away from the era of convenience and instant gratification, back towards more thoughtful, time-honoured ways of doing things. In many aspects of life, people are rediscovering the value of patience, craftsmanship, and deep engagement—practices that once defined daily living before the modern world accelerated everything.

Slow Food: A Return to Traditional Cooking

One of the most visible areas of this shift is in food culture. There is a growing rejection of fast food and highly processed convenience meals in favour of slow cooking with fresh, whole ingredients. More people are growing their own produce, baking sourdough bread, fermenting foods, and reviving traditional recipes passed down through generations. In the UK, veg box schemes are flourishing. Last year Riverford Organic Farmers doubled its profits. This reflects people’s desire to buy organic, sustainable food, to support local farms, and to eat seasonally. These practices were once commonplace in households where food was a product of time and care rather than speed and efficiency.

Ethical Fashion: Quality Over Quantity

The same trend is evident in fashion. Fast fashion, with its cheaply made, disposable clothing, is falling out of favour as people turn towards quality over quantity. Ethical and sustainable fashion movements emphasise well-made garments, second-hand shopping, and repairing clothes rather than discarding them. UK-based brands such as Toast, People Tree, &Daughter, and Everlane are leading this shift, while charity shops and repair services like The Seam and Collingwood Norris encourage consumers to extend the life of their clothes. This echoes a time when clothing was made to last, mended when worn, and treasured rather than treated as temporary.

The Revival of Craftsmanship

In craftsmanship and design, there is a return to handmade and artisanal goods. From woodworking and pottery to leather working and weaving, traditional crafts are enjoying a revival as people seek alternatives to mass-produced, impersonal goods. The popularity of UK craft fairs and marketplaces such as Etsy UK demonstrates a renewed appreciation for handmade items. This reflects an earlier era when furniture, tools, and household items were made by skilled hands and designed to endure generations.

A Renewed Love for Physical Media

The resurgence of analogue media is another sign of this longing for depth and authenticity. Vinyl records, film photography, and printed books are experiencing renewed interest as people seek richer, more tactile experiences. In a world dominated by digital immediacy, the vinyl revival isn’t just about nostalgia; it’s a cultural phenomenon driven by a desire for authenticity, connection, and a more mindful approach to music consumption. The UK’s vinyl sales have surpassed CDs in recent years, showing that people are willing to invest in physical music experiences despite the ease of streaming.

Slow Travel: Deeper Connections Over Fast Tourism

Even in travel, a shift is occurring. Rather than rushing from one tourist attraction to another, more travellers are embracing slow travel - immersing themselves in one place for an extended time, forming deeper connections with the culture, and appreciating the journey as much as the destination. This is reminiscent of times when travel was a grand undertaking, approached with care and curiosity rather than as a bucket list of sights to be ticked off on a whistle stop tour. In the UK, train travel and eco-conscious tourism are gaining traction as people opt for more sustainable, immersive experiences.

Rejecting Hustle Culture for Meaningful Work

Similarly, in work and lifestyle, many are rejecting the always-on hustle culture in favour of mindfulness, deep work, and meaningful productivity. Instead of multitasking and seeking immediate results, there is a movement towards focusing on one thing at a time, valuing craftsmanship over speed, and measuring success by fulfilment rather than sheer output. This echoes a past where work was more deliberate, rooted in skill and pride rather than efficiency and burnout. The rise of four-day workweek trials in the UK suggests that companies and workers alike are reconsidering the value of relentless busyness.

Slow Psychotherapy: Embracing Depth Over Quick Fixes

This shift towards depth and intentionality is particularly relevant in psychotherapy. Just as people are turning away from fast fixes in other areas of life, there is a growing recognition that true personal growth requires time, curiosity, and patience. Rather than seeking quick solutions or surface-level interventions, more individuals are engaging in depth work—exploring the root causes of their struggles, understanding their emotional patterns, and uncovering a deeper sense of meaning in their lives.

Short-term therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) have gained popularity due to their structured, goal-oriented approach. While these approaches can be effective for symptom relief, they may not always address the underlying emotional and relational patterns that contribute to distress. Research suggests that while short-term interventions often yield quick improvements, their effects can diminish over time, particularly for individuals with complex or longstanding psychological challenges (Leichsenring & Rabung, 2008).

By contrast, psychodynamic therapy engages with deeper psychological processes, focusing on unconscious conflicts, early relational experiences, and ingrained emotional patterns. Studies, including a landmark meta-analysis by Shedler (2010) and the Tavistock Adult Depression Study (Fonagy et al., 2015), suggest that psychodynamic therapy fosters long-term transformation. Unlike symptom-focused approaches, it restructures core aspects of personality, allowing individuals to develop deeper self-awareness, emotional resilience, and more fulfilling relationships.

Much like slow living, psychodynamic therapy requires a commitment to patience and introspection. It is not about quick fixes but about engaging in the deeper work necessary for lasting change. Just as crafting a well-made garment or growing seasonal food takes time and care, so does the process of understanding and healing the self. Taking the time to explore the underlying issues that hold us back can lead to profound and lasting psychological transformation.

Rediscovering the Art of Living Well

Perhaps this shift is, at its core, a reaction to the relentless pace of modern life. As we embrace these older ways of doing things, we are not simply indulging in nostalgia—we are reclaiming a sense of presence, purpose, and connection that was once integral to daily life. In returning to slower, more intentional practices, we may find ourselves rediscovering not just lost traditions, but a deeper sense of what it means to live well.

References

Fonagy, P., Rost, F., Carlyle, J. A., McPherson, S., Thomas, R., & Fearon, P. (2015). Pragmatic randomized controlled trial of long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy for treatment-resistant depression: The Tavistock Adult Depression Study (TADS). World Psychiatry, 14(3), 312-321. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20267

Leichsenring, F., & Rabung, S. (2008). Effectiveness of long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy: A meta-analysis. JAMA, 300(13), 1551-1565. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.300.13.1551

Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2), 98-109. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018378