How to Get the Most Out of Therapy

If you’re currently going to therapy or thinking about starting, chances are there is something that you want to work on or change in your life. So as you go through therapy, how can you make the process as effective and helpful as possible?

Be an Active Member

Therapy is a collaborative process between the therapist and the client. For therapy to be effective, both the therapist and the client must be equally invested in the process. During sessions, it is important to be engaged and focused on the conversation. Minimizing distractions such as incoming texts, calls, emails, and other background noises that could disrupt the session can help you to remain engaged and focused.

Be Honest

In therapy, it is likely that you will talk about a lot of uncomfortable and potentially difficult topics. While it may be easier to avoid sharing emotional or vulnerable subjects, it is important to be open and honest about the struggles you are experiencing. While therapists have many skills, they are not mind readers. Telling your therapist about your experiences, feelings, questions, concerns, and struggles helps them to better understand and support you.

Have Clearly Defined Goals

Goals provide clarity and guidance throughout the journey of therapy. Having clearly defined goals helps to structure therapy sessions, ensuring that both the client and the therapist are on the same page. Moreover, having clear goals helps to measure progress and see quantifiable change over time. If you do not have clearly set goals, think about the changes that you want to make in your life. How do you know that you've made these changes? What would it look like to have achieved these goals? What kind of things can you do to get there? Having a conversation about goals and setting clearly defined and outlined objectives with your therapist can help sessions to be more productive and focused.

Utilize Your Time Outside of Sessions

Sessions take up just a small portion of your time each week. What you do outside of sessions is very important to make any kind of long-lasting or significant change. Take a moment to think: outside of sessions, are you working toward the goals that you have set for yourself? Are you completing worksheets or activities that your therapist recommended? Are there things that you are doing outside of sessions that could be counterproductive to your goals? Taking charge of your time outside of sessions by completing worksheets and exercises provided to you, prioritizing self care, and keeping in mind the goals that you have for yourself can I help you to see change quicker. Moreover, making these practices a routine part of your schedule helps change to be more sustainable and long-lasting. Remember, therapy is often a temporary process. The lifestyle changes you incorporate along the way is what is going to make the biggest difference.

Have an Open Mind

Throughout the therapeutic process, you will likely be encouraged to try new exercises, explore new ways of thinking and behaving, and do things in a different way than you're used to. No matter how badly we want to see change in our lives, making these changes to the way we think, feel, and behave can be really difficult to stick with. Our routines and habits become very hard wired and you might find it difficult to actually make these changes. It is important throughout therapy to keep an open mind to trying new exercises and ways of doing things. Keeping an open mind will help you to develop a new mindset and outlook on life, while also helping you to reach the goals that you have set for yourself. If you try something new and it doesn’t work for you, that’s totally fine! You can have a conversation with your therapist and brainstorm something new to try. The main takeaway is to be open to trying new things and seeing what sticks and what doesn’t.