Weekly Practices That Will Prepare You for Therapy
A common phenomena with therapy clients (especially those who are new to therapy) is that you get to session and then feel unsure about what to bring into the session. While your therapist should be able to provide you with a few prompts to get the juices flowing, I have noticed that this feeling of uncertainty, numbness, or blankness can often make it hard for folks to get through the initial discomfort of engaging in therapy. Below I will elaborate on some suggestions that I have for practices that you can try throughout the week that might provide you with an idea of what to bring into your session.
Journaling or Taking Notes
Journaling is one of those suggestions that I’ve seen many clients (myself included) have an “ugh”, bone chilling reaction to. For some, it can seem tedious and like just another thing to do, for others it can feel like a supportive outlet to parse through thoughts, feelings, and situations. If the idea of journaling feels intimidating, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
It doesn’t have to take place daily.
It doesn’t have to be long, well written prose. Jotting down a few thoughts that you have about a situation in your notes app is perfectly acceptable.
These notes are for you - your therapist is not the teacher who grades your notebook at the end of the week. Remind yourself that this is an activity for your own best interest, nobody else.
Benefits for your therapy session:If you have a lot of different thoughts/feelings from the week, reviewing the notes before a session can help you to narrow down your focus.
Over time, if you notice that the same feeling/situation comes up often, that means it is probably a great thing to bring up in therapy.
The process of writing/reviewing my have already helped you to work through some of the material, making it not seem quite to overwhelming to broach with another person.
Sharing Meaningful Media
Now more than ever, our the algorithms for our social media feeds seem to predict our feelings, fears, and frustrations. Memes, tiktoks, and infographics can sometimes “hit” when we see them in a way that could feel inaccessible with a traditional conversation. If you come across media over the week that really resonates with you, I suggest bringing it in to your session as a way to express what is going on for you. Some things to keep in mind:
Check in with your therapist about how they feel about this. In my practice, I am ok with folks sending me a link to something beforehand to read/watch/listen to. If it takes less than 5 minutes to get through, I am game to review it before the session.
Think about this creatively - perhaps there is and artist or musician whose work really resonates with you and makes your feel something. Consider listening to a song with your therapist in an effort to share this piece of yourself.
We spend so much of our time looking at social media and taking in messages from others, there is virtually no way that this does not have an impact on us. Anything that resonates with you from this sphere of your life is probably ripe for conversation.
This can also be something positive, fun, and light. It doesn’t have to be sad, negative, or something that brings you down!
Benefits for your therapy session:Sharing about your unique interests is a great way for your therapist to see a more personal side of you. This will likely open up your sessions in many ways.
Seeing what type of media resonates with you may allow for your therapist to suggest other media that could be supportive of your needs.
This can lighten the mood of a session and bring in some humor (a must for all therapy sessions, in my opinion).
Reading, Psychoeducation, Bibliotherapy
Reading books or listening to audiobooks related to your identity, lifestyle, mental health symptoms, or experiences will likely help you to make some internal connections that would be excellent to share in session. There is no shortage of books on all sorts of psychological issues, as well as memoirs and fiction that cover a variety of life’s experiences. If you want to enrich your therapy with reading, think about the following:
Some material may be hard to read or potentially triggering. If you have an interest in a book about symptoms or diagnoses that you experience, ask your therapist for recommendations around what you might be ready for.
Lots of popular psychology and self help books have workbooks associated with them as well, think about if something more interactive would be supportive for you.
Remember that you do not need to rush through material, this is not a homework assignment with a hard deadline. If content is difficult for you to sit with, that is probably something that would be best worked out with the help of a therapist.
Benefits for your therapy session:Reading about a particular issue will help to strengthen your vocabulary of what you are experiencing and may help with your ability to share this with your therapist.
Books related to your situation, especially those that are niche, can help you to feel the humanity of being human, realizing that it is not just you who struggles with a certain issue, but that others can relate.
If you don’t understand something you have read, your therapy session is a great time to explore it. If you disagree with something you read, even better! Discussion can help you to gain clarity.
I hope these suggestions are helpful for the next time you are feeling blank or unsure about what to bring up in therapy. Engaging in practices like these outside of session can help us to be more aware of the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are important to explore in session.
