Psychotherapy, which is also known as individual therapy or counseling, is a partnership between a client and therapist during which counterproductive patterns of thought and behavior are identified by discussing life’s events, memories, relationships, goals and fears. It’s also utilized as a time to discuss any mental issues with which the client may be dealing. If you are starting psychotherapy for the first time, you may be wondering what to expect in a psychotherapy session.
To start the session, the therapist will inquire as to what brought you to counseling. It’s important to be open about what led you to seek the services of a therapist. The only way you can get to the bottom of how to improve your life is to candidly explain what is occurring and how often. If you feel as if you have been forced into therapy, explain your situation to the therapist, so that the benefits of therapy can be explained to you. The success of a therapeutic relationship is wholly based on the fruitful and meaningful connection between the therapist and the client. If you do not want to attend psychotherapy sessions, it will not make an impact on your life.
As you continue to discuss what brought you to therapy, your therapist will use tools to help you take a closer look at your life, such as repeating back to you what you have said and asking you open-ended questions. Repeating back your own words to you can lead to what is known as a, “breakthrough,” which is a moment of clarity when something that has remained hidden from your awareness breaks through your consciousness, such harboring negative views of yourself or others. Along with the power of reflecting on your spoken words, another important tool of psychotherapy is the exercise of asking you to answer specific open-ended questions related to the issues you are facing and prompting you to formulate your own conclusions. Psychotherapy is not about your therapist giving you advice. It’s about discovering your own solutions to the issues that you wish to confront or change and teaching you tools that you can take with you to effect meaningful change in your life.
Regardless of what you are facing, an experienced psychotherapist, like Benjamin Wolf, MSW, LICSW, can guide you to achieving a healthy frame of mind and state of living. Email or call Hope and Healing for Life today at 612-643-1920 to discover how Dr. Wolf of St. Paul, MN, can help you affect meaningful change in your life regardless of what trauma, mental issue, relationship difficulty or health problem you are facing.
