What is therapy like?

Because each person has different issues and goals for therapy, therapy will be different depending on the individual. In general, you can expect to discuss the current events/stressors happening in your life, share personal history relevant to your issue, work on learning/identifying new ways to deal with situations/negative thought patterns/stressors, as well as review progress (or any new insights gained) from the previous therapy session. Depending on your needs, therapy can be short-term, for a specific issue, or longer-term, to deal with more difficult patterns. Either way, it is important to schedule consistent weekly sessions with your therapist. Therapy sessions can vary in time up to 1 hour, however, not all sessions are held for an hour. Session time is determined by your need, progress, and sometimes your insurance. Once progress is achieved, sessions will be decreased to biweekly, monthly, or if you are doing well, they will be terminated.

It is important to understand that you will get more results from therapy if you actively participate in the process. The ultimate purpose of therapy is to help you take what you learn in session and integrate it into your life outside of the therapy office. Therefore, beyond the work you do in therapy sessions, your therapist may suggest some things you can do outside of therapy to support your progress such as reading a pertinent book, journaling on specific topics, noting particular behaviors, and/or practicing skills you have learned. Therapy is tailored to each individual.