Dr. Vince LeoneOwner, Consultant, Specialized Practice · Owner, Consultant at Specialized Practice

6 Visits Won't Fix You: Why 20 is the Magic Number!

28 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In this excerpt, Dr. Vince Leone sharply criticizes the common clinical practice of initiating patients with a six‑visit treatment plan. He points out that many providers simply add another six visits repeatedly, which he finds “terrible.” Citing research, Dr. Leone states that roughly twenty visits constitute the minimum effective dose needed for a patient to reach meaningful, measurable improvement (MMI). He argues that expecting significant change within six sessions is unrealistic, as most patients will not achieve substantial progress in that short timeframe.

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Well said. And there, there is one group, and I'm obviously I'm not going to name them, but it really frustrates me. It's one of, one of my irks is they do this, well, just try 6 visits and see how it goes. And then, you know, you kind of go 6 more and 6 more. It's like, that's terrible. I'm just going to say it. The, the research is clear, right? I mean, if you just do a little bit of digging, the research is out there. 20, visits is the minimum effective dose to get a patient to MMI. So why in the world would you be recommending you starting a patient at 6 visits? Because the vast majority of them are not going to get better in 6 visits. They may have a little bit of change, but if you're, if you're expecting to get significant change in 6 visits, you're mistaken.