Therapy can be a daunting experience. Therapy involves meeting a new person with the purpose of talking about the most intimate details of your life. It’s no wonder people are nervous about starting therapy. So let’s talk about how to how to feel better about going to therapy.
What’s your motivation for therapy?
The first thing to remember is your motivation. What’s your motivation for therapy? How do you believe it is going to help? Essentially, what are you wanting to see different in your life, and what is the role of therapy in this?
While it can be good to have another perspective, to have someone to bounce ideas off, or someone to vent to, it’s also important to remember what you want to get out of therapy; what you can learn from it in order to better your life. Remembering this will remind you of the purpose of therapy and why you wanted to start in the first place.
Feel like you wont know what to say?
If you’re worried that you won’t know what to say, it’s okay! Psychologists go through vigorous training and spend many years at uni and placement to know exactly what needs to be said in situations. We’ve been trained to ask specific questions to get to know you and your experiences better.
It’s also important to remember that you do NOT have to talk about anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. If there are things that you don’t want to share with someone in the first session, that’s totally fine. And your psychologist will also tell you this.
Don’t forget you are paying for a service.
It is also important to remember that you are paying for a service. Seeing a psychologist is not the same as talking to a random person about what you are experiencing. Your psychologist is working with you in order to make sure you are receiving quality service (in the form of assessments, achieving goals etc.).
We will not be making personal judgements or saving pieces of information for later gossip. In the same way, if you feel the service you are receiving is not the best match for you, or is not something you feel is working for you, don’t give up! Just like any interpersonal relationship, you may not get along with the first psychologist you see, and this is part of a very normal journey.
Keep trying to find one that works well with you and you will experience all the benefits from therapy!
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