How to Get the Most Out of Therapy

How to Get the Most Out of Therapy

A therapy session is only one half of 1% of your life in a week but, it has the potential to transform your marriage, stop your addictive behaviors, heal trauma and help you make meaning of your life.  Therapy can be an incredible investment if you are a wise investor.  To help you get the most out of your investment I've created this article for you to check out. 

The First Visit.  If you can come early.  Allow yourself to get there 20-30 minutes ahead of time so that you can find the place, get settled, fill out the necessary paperwork and reflect on what you want to get out of the first session.  If you do this the session will be spent focused more on you rather than the business of filling out paperwork.

Expectations and Communication.  If you forget all other parts of this article I hope you remember this point: therapy is about you getting what you want and need.  Different people prefer different styles of therapy.  Some want a more direct approach.  Other's want to go slow and spend more time verbally processing.  A therapist will only know what you want and need if you tell them.  As a therapist I will have hunches but it is best if the client shares with me their expectations.  Most sessions I will make space to check in at the end of sessions.  If your therapist doesn't do that I would recommend you can ask for that to happen.  With that said if something didn't sit right with you let your therapist know as soon as you are aware.  Being able to have a voice in the therapy process is critical to you meeting your goals.  In addition, learning to have a voice in therapy is a great way to practice being assertive.  And, that can have a positive impact in other of parts of your life.   

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