Beginning Therapy

First of all, I want to assure you that you don’t have to know exactly what’s wrong when you go to your first session with a therapist. Ignore what your friends, parents, partner, other health providers, or boss say you "should" work on. You can simply describe in the best way that you can, using your own words, what is happening with you that is not synching up with how you want to live your life. Remember, the whole point of needing help is the fact that you don’t know how to solve your own problems. You might even feel stupid or embarrassed in the beginning because what’s being asked of you is precisely to speak of what you don’t know about! The invitation is to become as curious and honest with yourself as possible. If you have never had the chance to speak in this way, you will probably experience an immediate relief from painful feelings. 

Starting therapy isn't easy; resistance and doubt are natural yet uncomfortable forces to deal with. The obstacles to getting help are totally real, involving a significant investment of your time, money, and emotional risk taking. At times it might seem like a struggle with no end in sight. If you still want to do it, it means that you have decided that your desire is worth fighting for, despite all of the obstacles. You are ready when all of the reasons to not seek whatever it is you are looking for cannot drown out the voice that seeks it. Therapy starts with listening to that voice.