Attending therapy is a great way to cope with any mental health challenges or make it through a challenging time. But have you ever wondered why some people seem to get more out of therapy than others? This is because therapy is an active process. You and your therapist need to work together in order for you to achieve your goals. Here are some things that you can do to get more out of your therapy sessions.
1. Go in with a goal.
When you first meet with your therapist, have some goals in mind and share them with your therapist. These goals should be more specific than "I want to feel better." Maybe you want to have the confidence to apply to upper-level jobs. Perhaps you want to be able to have more honest conversations with your partner. Your goal can be something you should look back on six months or so from now and either think "I achieved that" or "I have not achieved that yet." Having a goal to work toward will allow your therapist to better target the nature of your therapy sessions.
2. Be open-minded.
If you've done any reading about therapy and mental health, you might go into your therapist's office with some pre-conceived notions about what's wrong with you and what a therapist will do to help. But it can be more effective to let these ideas go. Trust the therapist to make a diagnosis and recommend the best approach, and be ready to accept that it may not be what you think. Give it a try before deciding whether it's for you.
3. Be honest.
So many patients lie to their therapists or leave out important parts of the story. Your therapist cannot help you as effectively if they don't really know what is going on. Remember that it is not their role to judge you. Be as open and honest as possible. If there are things you are not comfortable talking about, that's okay, but tell your therapist you're uncomfortable rather than making something up.
4. Do your homework.
Most therapists will give you "homework" or things to work on between sessions. Make sure you do these assignments. They allow you to make progress between sessions, and these assignments are when you get to apply the therapy to your daily life.
If you take the steps above, you will get so much more out of your therapy visits.
To learn more, contact a resource like the Rinehart Institute.
