Tips for getting the most out of Therapy

Tips for therapySomatic TherapyTrauma-Informed

Apr 6

Entering the office at Somatic Psychotherapy Michigan

Some tips for making the most out of therapy

Therapy can be extremely healing and transformative in your life but it also can be an expensive and time consuming commitment. Some people may wonder if they are making the most of their therapy experience. Here I will mention some ways to maximize your therapy experience to get the absolute most out of it.

If you are just starting therapy and you are preparing for your first session—here are some questions to ask yourself before:

What am I really wanting in my life?

What am I really wanting from therapy?

What am I hoping to get out of the sessions?

What are my goals for therapy?

Take some time to think about these and jot down some thoughts and feelings. If you don’t feel clear about the answers than that is ok—this is something you can explore further with the support of your new therapist.

Journaling or writing things down:

Even if you don’t journal, sometimes it can help to write things down. Things like—thoughts, ruminations, feelings, sensations, memories, dreams, incidents, interactions—anything that is related to things you want to work on in therapy or something you are curious about or want to explore further in your next session.

You can even draw, make a voice recording, take a picture or anything else to help you remember things that you want to bring up in therapy.

If you are one of those awesome people that loves journalling or has a journalling routine—ask your therapist if they can give a prompt or topic to write about during the week—maybe something relevant to what you are working on in therapy. You can also journal or jot down what happened for you in the therapy session, right after the session is finished. Some things you could take note of are things that came up for you in the session, things that surprised you, connections or insights that were made, things you want to explore further in the next session, how your body is feeling right after the session and anything else that you are curious about.

If you are a client that is working on ‘parts work’ or IFS in your therapy sessions—writing and journalling can be a great way to keep track of the parts during the week. Keep a list of your parts and learn how to observe them in between sessions. You can write about how the parts were coming up during the week, what the parts were saying, how were they reacting, what activated them, what helped them calm down. This is a great way to get to know the parts better, see how they are showing up in your day-to-day life and start building a relationship with them.

Mindfulness:

If you learned any grounding or mindfulness techniques in sessions—you can also practice these on your own. Mindfulness is like a muscle that needs to be strengthened through practice and it will improve the more you incorporate it into your daily life. If you are doing somatic therapy—mindfulness is a pre-requisite for this work.

Quick Grounding Exercise

Sit quietly. Look around you and notice:

5 things you can see: Your hands, the sky, a plant on your desk?
4 things you can physically feel: Your feet on the ground, a ball, your hand?
3 things you can hear: The wind blowing, children’s playing, traffic, your breath?
2 things you can smell: Fresh-cut grass, coffee, your body?
1 thing you can taste: A mint, saliva, the fresh air?

Building the Vocabulary:

Sometimes clients come to therapy not knowing how to describe or identify emotions, feelings or sensations. Having the vocabulary to describe what you are internally experiencing will help your therapist get a better understanding of what is happening for you in the moment—especially if you are in somatic therapy. This is also something that you can learn, practice and get better at doing. Here are lists of some emotions and sensation words that you can familiarize yourself with: