How to get the most out of therapy
Therapy is so important for everyone in different seasons of life. Therapists are experts in mental health and experienced therapists have a process for helping new clients, so don’t feel like you have to know anything in particular before going into therapy. However, there are some ways you can help make therapy more effective. Here are some tips to make the most of your time with your therapist.
Pick the right therapist
This might be the most important thing I am going to talk about. If you don’t feel a connection to your therapist then you won’t be able to make as much progress as you could otherwise. I have a whole blog post on how to choose the right therapist, but as a rule of thumb, try and pick someone who seems like you could connect to. If you prefer a young therapist than pick someone young, if you are looking for a female therapist, then pick a female therapist.
Remember that therapy is collaborative
One of the most important things to remember is that therapy is a collaboration. It’s not like taking your car into the shop, where your therapist fixes you then sends you on your way. Your therapist doesn’t have all of the answers, in fact YOU are really the one who is the expert on your own life. You also hold all of the power to make the changes you need to make to improve your mental health.
Be honest
In most everyday conversation, we’re used to censoring ourselves. Typically, this is useful, it is a good thing to be able to read the room. Therapy is a different matter, though. It requires a willingness to say what’s on your mind, even if you’re worried it might sound offensive, embarrassing, or irrelevant. If something is on your mind it is important to share it with your therapist, you may need a few sessions to build rapport and feel comfortable with your therapist and that is OK, but be sure to be honest when you feel ready to be. The whole point of therapy is that you are in a non-judgemental space to be your true self.
Do the work
As noted above, your therapist can’t do the work for you. You need to take what is being talked about in session and implement it into your daily life. Did your therapist give you a breathing exercise to try? Actually try it. Did you talk about getting some exercise and walking on the towpath in Akron? Actually make the time. Sometimes techniques need to be tried out many times before you feel like you’ve really “got it”. If you do the work you will see the change and that’s why you started therapy in the first place.
Ask questions
It can feel intimidating to ask questions, but if you don’t understand something your therapist says then you need to ask for clarification. This is so important. You are paying for therapy, you should ask your therapist what they mean if you feel like it is unclear.
Have goals for therapy
People rarely enter therapy without some idea why they’re there. If you struggle with anxiety or depression, your goal is typically to get your addiction under control or to stop feeling depressed. How will you know you are making progress on these goals? Will you consider therapy successful if you can get out of bed and go to work, or do you have to feel happy about it? You can discuss your goals with your therapist and she can help you know what to expect. It also helps to go into each session with some idea of what you want to talk about. If something stressful happened since your last session and you feel like you didn’t handle it well, maybe you want to start with that.
Be careful who you talk to about therapy
There’s no shame in going to therapy! These days there’s not much stigma attached to letting people know you see a therapist, but you might want to share the details carefully. Not everyone is open to therapy and many people still think that therapy is “for crazy people”. If you feel like your circle of support is open and willing to hear about it then by all means share it, but if you know that you have some people in your life that would be judgemental remember that it is really no one’s business, but your own.
Therapist Akron, Ohio
I hope you found this post helpful. Please reach out if it seems like we could be a good fit, I am an Akron based therapist who is passionate about serving our community. I am a therapist who works primarily with young adults. I have experience helping young adults navigate the stressful college years and I very much enjoy counseling college students. I see a variety of people in my Akron, Ohio counseling office. I treat people with depression, anxiety, religious trauma and gender dysphoria. Still have questions? Get answers to common questions about counseling here or simply schedule a counseling session today to get started!