What to Talk About in Therapy

Do you ever feel like this? You feel like a mess all week and then when you immediately sit down to talk to your therapist your mind goes blank?

This is actually a pretty common experience, especially if you are struggling with your mental health. Your mind may be preoccupied with worries or feeling bogged down by negative thoughts throughout the day. Then, when you come to the one place you can unload all those worries and thoughts, your brain freezes. Research shows how mental illness, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and eating disorders, can negatively impact memory and make it more difficult to recall specific events. (citation).

Luckily this doesn’t mean that you are doomed to a terrible memory forever, this just means that you need a little assistance along your road to recovery.

When it comes to what to talk about in therapy, it’s always important to remember “What are my long term goals for therapy?” “What are we working on?” “Where do I want to be?” These questions can identify potential solutions to go towards or roadblocks you want to overcome.

Journaling (I know, how cliche) is extremely helpful for therapy content. Journaling your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors throughout the week can produce a wealth of valuable information for you and your therapist. This can help us identify patterns that occur. For example, you notice that every time you have a fight with your partner you have anxiety at work the next day. In therapy, we can process events and problem solve ways to cope with difficult emotions or find solutions to reduce suffering.