Therapy is a fantastic way to invest in your own health and wellness. Often people find themselves seeking therapy in order to get through a challenging time in their lives. But others simply find the therapeutic space to be beneficial in pursuing their personal development.
Regardless of your goals, therapy is an investment of your time, energy, and money. So how do you get the most out of your therapeutic journey? Here we explore 10 ways to maximize each session:
Tips for Maximizing Your Therapy Investment
- Set Goals
- Be clear in defining what you want to get out of therapy. Having goals is a good way to stay focused in therapeutic work. These goals may change and develop over time, so periodically checking in to ensure you are working towards your goals is important.
- Spend Some Time Housekeeping
- There can be a lot to explore in therapy, or new challenges in life may disrupt what your original goals were. This is normal. However, it can be helpful to spend a portion of your time in therapy to check in on any topics you have been working on or items that have been put on hold. Following up with your progress assists in guiding what the focus of the therapeutic space should be at any given time.
- Be Open and Vulnerable
- You get out of therapy what you put into it. So if you want to get the most out of the therapeutic space, letting the therapist in and building trust will help get to the real work.
- Focus On You
- It can be tempting to focus on other people during your sessions, and at times it is relevant to do so. However, you cannot control other people, so focusing on what is in your power and what patterns you repeat can be a better way to utilize the therapeutic space (but by all means, if you need to vent about a toxic boss, parent, or partner – do so).
- Do The Work Outside The Office
- Therapy is a great space to reflect, learn from your past, and develop new skills. However, the therapist cannot do the work for you. Integrating lessons and concepts into your daily life will maximize what you get out of therapy. You are not expected to do anything perfectly, but learning from your real world experiences and processing them in the therapy room will help you get the most out of your time.
- Communicate With Your Therapist
- Therapy can have its own ups and downs. The more you are honest with your therapist, this includes times you may feel at odds with your therapist – while they may not feel great at the moment, these are good opportunities to learn how to repair disruptions with someone you trust.
- Ground Your Expectations
- When seeking therapy often we want to feel better as quickly as possible. Talk with your therapist about what you are working towards and how long that may realistically take. Developing some quick coping skills might help and be relatively quick to learn, but doing deeper work or processing trauma may take longer.
- Be Consistent
- Therapy is most commonly done on a weekly basis, but whatever your cadence is, showing up consistently is important. Regularly investing in your self-care and the therapeutic space allows you to continually be working towards your goals. Openly communicate with your therapist if you need to reschedule or cancel so the therapist can adjust any sessions or homeworks accordingly.
- Take Notes Or Journal
- Therapy sessions are very brief compared to the rest of your life. Keeping notes from sessions or journaling during the week can help you maximize what you focus on as well as act as a metric for tracking your progress.
- Be Patient And Kind To Yourself
- Therapy is a process, sometimes things may feel worse before they feel better. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself to grow at your own pace. Rushing won’t make the results better, good things take time. So deep breath and dive in.
At the end of the day the therapeutic space is there for you. A therapist should help you use the space in the best way possible, but therapy is a collaboration and works best when everyone involved is working towards the same end. So don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself and make the most out of your commitment to your mental health and well-being.
My goal is to provide a safe and welcoming place for you as you take steps to improve your life and find your own path towards fulfillment and satisfaction. Call or message today to schedule your free phone consultation or arrange your first appointment.