We know that going to therapy can be anxiety producing for both you and your child. We get it!
To help combat some of that, we wanted to give you five tips to make sure they AND you are getting the most out of therapy sessions…
1. Have an open mind.
This means try not to come into the session with any preconceived notions or ideas … how it went for your bestie doesn’t mean it will be the same, especially if their experience wasn’t awesome. Tell yourself it will be great and that you will trust the process and open your heart a bit.
Help your kiddo do the same by saying this to them before you bring them in.
Don’t forget: our children follow our lead so wield this superpower for good!
2. Be as open as you can with your therapist.
There will never be another place where you can literally dump all yo shit on another person and it never leaves that room!!! How cool is that? So don’t hold back babe, tell her everything that’s been bugging you, worrying you or just plain annoying you.
Encourage your child to do the same, letting them know that they are bound by laws that protect their confidentiality (unless of course they say they’re going to hurt themselves or someone else, but their therapist will tell them that.)
3. Do your best to try the ideas your therapist has for you.
It could be as easy as creating boundaries or setting limits for phone time at home for your tween/teen or even just practicing some coping skills y’all have figured out will help manage big emotions or experiences. So many people don’t do the “work” outside of their sessions and then, get frustrated by their stalling out on any progress they could be making.
Encourage your child do that worksheet, draw that picture, journal or do whatever their therapist is asking of them.
4. Be PATIENT!
As the parent of a child in therapy, I know you have this laundry list of stuff you think they could be doing, or doing better, or stop doing, whatever the case is for y’all. I’m here to tell you though that creating that foundational trust between them and their therapist is so important, and it doesn’t happen overnight! While here at EC we’re really, really good at this piece, we still need to let the client warm up to us and to the whole journey, which, could take longer than you or they have hoped. Keep encouraging them to continue trying and going to their appointments. This goes for you too with your own therapy.
5. Be consistent.
Meaning make regular appointments and keep them. We also encourage our minor clients (and their families) to have weekly sessions for the first month or two as it takes that long most of the time to create that rapport and trust that your child desperately needs before they can really get the most out of therapy.
That being said, show up:
- Make sure you get them there on time and encourage them to do it themselves if they’re driving.
- Do your part in making sure you keep future appointments on their therapist’s books; it’s hard for us to navigate if the parents are MIA when it’s time to start scheduling them.
- We do our part by trying to get multiple appointments on the books, but we need your assistance there too. Remember, our Administrative Goddess is there Monday through Friday 9 am to 5 pm to accommodate you with this so definitely reach out.
We hope these simple tips help you and your kiddo get the most of therapy. We believe so much in the power of connection to heal and we’ve perfected it along the way, but we need you to help us with that too by doing your part. These five tips to get the most out of therapy should help all of us.
Don’t forget: we are here to support you. Click here to self-schedule now with one of our rock star therapists at any of our 3 locations. We’ll see you soon!
