What Should YOU Expect From Therapy? | Kati Morton

Order my book today! ARE U OK? http://geni.us/sva4iUY Therapy, counseling, psychotherapy, whatever you want to call it, it can help to see a mental health professional for support sometimes. Know that we can look into seeing a therapist in our area for many reasons. Maybe we want to sleep better, perhaps we are dealing with infidelity or trying to feel less anxious. While we can reach out to see someone at any time, and do not have to be in crisis to do so, but it is important that we know what we want to get out of it. Many people assume that the therapist will just guide you and you don’t have to really know what you want to get out of it, but that is not true. In a way, you are the boss of your own therapy. You get to decide what your goals are, what you want to improve, and how you want to get there. A therapist’s job is to assess how you are doing, ask the right questions to move you towards your goals, and offer tips, techniques and tools that could help. So prior to going into therapy consider what it is you want to get out of it, or at least what it is you don’t like about your life. Therapy won’t “fix” everything right away, nor can a therapist fix any of your problems. I know many of you know this, but it just needs to be said. Actually working in our own therapy is hard work!! Yes it can be exhausting, and yes we may want to give up, but it’s not up to our therapist to work harder than we are. In fact, if your therapist is doing more work in therapy than you are, it’s a bad sign and means that the therapeutic relationship may need looking into..this can be caused by lack of healthy boundaries in therapy, not seeing the right therapist or seeing someone we like but who doesn’t practice the type of therapy we need. As far as homework goes, some therapists believe in it while others don’t. Those who do tend to be more like me, and they are more behavioral/directive type therapists. Others are more the “talk therapy” type where they believe that talking it out and getting feedback in session is enough, and that you will slowly get the root of your issues that way. Consider what style you may like prior to seeing a therapist and know that you can ask questions before making your first appt! You can ask for them to email you their resume so you can see where they got their training and education, you can ask what styles of therapy they practice, and you can even ask how they treat any issue you may be struggling with. So ask questions and pick someone you feel will help you most. Trusting in the therapeutic process will take time. It takes time to feel comfortable talking with someone new, and getting into the real work. That’s why I always encourage you to ask to create a treatment plan together as soon as possible. This will not only empower you in the process, but it can also ensure that you are both working towards the same goals. This also allows you to check up on your therapy and see what progress is being made. But if you prefer a less structured type of therapy, it is also okay to do check ins with your therapist about the process every couple of months (or whatever feels good to you). Letting them know if you are feeling tired, overwhelmed, or like what you’re doing isn’t working. The last thing I want to mention is that if we feel ourselves getting worse, please let your therapist know! It’s not a bad thing to be doing worse, it actually gives us more information about you and what you are struggling with. It can also tell us that the tools and things we have been working on isn’t helping enough. So we may need to increase our sessions each week, or possibly get into a more intensive program. Therapy isn’t about making your therapist proud or worrying that they will be upset about your progress… therapy is about you getting the right help you need when you need it most.If you want to add translations, click the gear icon and go to Subtitles/CC then to Add subtitles or CC!PATREON Do you want to help support the creation of mental health videos? https://www.katimorton.com/kati-morton-patreon/JOURNALING & MOTIVATION TEXT SERVICE I have launched a new tool to help you journal & stay motivated. I know getting started on our path to self care can be hard and sometimes sticking with it can be even more difficult. That’s why I created this tool! I’ll be sending you messages twice a week, and my hope is that this can help get you thinking and writing more easily, or possibly take your journaling in a new and helpful direction. Let’s get started: https://create.getpurple.io/p/katimorton/I'm Kati Morton, a licensed therapist making Mental Health videos!CONTACT Business email: [email protected] Mail: PO Box #665 1223 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90403 WORKBOOKS Please visit the Itunes Bookstore and Search "Kati Morton". My Ibooks include exclusive videos and worksheets to help you on your path to wellness.