This is the biggest question I hear from my new clients … “I just want to feel better but I don’t
know if therapy will work for me.” This is also a highly googled question, when I searched for it I discovered over 25 million results! I enjoyed this article in the Huff Post it is very much in align with how we at Empowered Connections work.
Today,I’m here to answer that question for you from my perspective: YES, therapy will work for you but only if YOU do the work. Ha! Not the answer you were expecting but let me explain a bit more what that means.
Get to Know the Therapist
The first few sessions with your new therapist is typically for the both of you to get to know each other and for your therapist to get a solid idea of what strengths you have, what obstacles you are facing and what issues you want to work on. One component of successful therapy to remember is that you must be connected to your therapist! Are they funny in a way that makes you laugh? Does their life experience seem to be close to yours? Do you feel they are really listening to you and “get” you? These are major signs that tell you your therapist is a good fit for you and should be your first determination in how successful your journey will be. If you don’t like your therapist, dread going and feel like they don’t see you as a person, they’re not the right person for you and you should consider moving on.
So now that you’ve determined your therapist is the one for you, understand that you will
probably not get assignments from your therapist until you’ve established a rapport and built
enough trust that you are willing to do what the therapist asks. Then, usually the therapist will
start small like asking you to do some mood tracking or some journaling of your daily thoughts
… ok, not a big deal, right? You would think so but this is where I notice the people I work with,
becoming too busy or forgetting to do the assignments! Of course, life happens and I understand that you may not always have the time to do the assigned work, but here’s why it can be so pivotal in determining how well your therapy works for you.
Do the Homework
While the homework might seem inconsequential to you, it can be very important information that your therapist can use to begin building a foundation about how you think and process your feelings. Having your therapist follow you around at home and at work to get this information, can be really weird and expensive (ha!) so the alternative is to have you do the work on your own time. This is where clients can drop the ball because maybe they don’t see the value of doing these assignments or seeing how important this information can be to your therapy journey. You were brave enough to reach out, to find someone cool enough to trust and smart enough to help you so why not continue investing in yourself?
Doing the homework/assignments that your therapist gives you is pivotal to getting better and to creating the life you crave. You deserve to live your best life but it doesn’t come without some sweat and tears … therapy is not a magic wand but rather a light on your path. Take full advantage of your journey, invest in yourself and wait to see how your life changes for the better!
For more information on how WE do therapy, browse our website at
www.empoweredconnections.net.
