I get asked multiple questions from people regarding what they should expect before starting therapy. Not only that, but what a therapist would expect from them.
After many years I have noticed a pattern of questions, so I want to settle a lot of myths once and for all.
My latest video covers 5 things your therapist wants you to know. And what I hope a lot of you gather from this, is that the best time to start therapy is today.
There are a lot of thoughts that can get in the way, but from the moment you consider therapy it will always be in the back of your mind that things could be different. Better for you.
That’s why you have been considering therapy in the first place. So, make tomorrow better, rather than holding out.
I want to go into a little more detail, so over the next several weeks I’m going to break each point down to get you one step closer to booking in your first session.
The first thing your therapist wants you to know.
Starting therapy doesn’t mean you’ll feel instantly better. It’s not a quick fix.
There are effective forms of short-term therapy but these are focused on reducing severe symptoms, to take back control of yourself and your body.
Tactics such as tapping or breath work are very effective for reducing these symptoms – what they are used for is to ease any heightened and severe issues, such as:
- Panic attacks
- OCD
- Relapses with eating disorders
- Temptation to addictions
- Grounding from PTSD
Using these short-term tools, you can then find the mental capacity to focus on working with your counsellor to relieve those triggers permanently. These tools are not the sole focus of your therapy.
A misconception is that short-term tools work in the long term. What this does, however, is create a distraction from addressing those long-lived issues.
Starting therapy is hard.
This is no secret. Many people do become disappointed when they leave their first therapy session believing it didn’t work because they ended the session feeling worse than they did before.
Digging through the past isn’t easy, but it is through recounting and relating back to your experiences that you’re able to truly put those issues to bed.
Closure takes time and work, and can make you feel bad a lot of the time. This is why taking that time regularly, every week, to just focus on yourself is vital for self-improvement.
Don’t look for a quick fix.
There are a lot of schemes out there trying to tell people that they can fix your issues in one session, or with a few intensive sessions.
A hypothetical: Let’s imagine we were talking about your physical health.
You cut your hand – pretty deep – and went to the Emergency Room. The doctor walks in and tells you that they can stop the bleeding and heal your hand with no scarring in that one session.
I’m sure the majority of you would request a new doctor and request that they seek help themself.
A deep wound needs care, and time to heal, and likely leaves a scar. The same goes for your trauma, anxiety, and negative thought patterns.
Care and dedication to healing yourself and learning from your past is the key to a successful therapeutic experience.
What we aim to offer is to take any misconceptions out of starting therapy.
We’ve done this by creating a small and trusted group of therapists. This means we can connect you with a practitioner best suited to your needs.
We want you to create long-term, permanent change for the better. You can start today with a free telephone consultation.
@therapyinlondon Your #therapist wants you to know something. #therapytiktok ♬ original sound – Therapy in London
