How to Prepare for a Therapy Session

Have you ever found yourself sitting in a therapy session and asking yourself, “Hmm, what do I want to talk about today?” Maybe you even find it hard to remember what you spoke about during your last appointment. You find this strange since you always are so eager for therapy and usually end up having “ah-ha” moments, so you feel somewhat confused why you are suddenly drawing a blank.

If any of this sounds familiar, these tips are for you! While it’s totally okay to enter a therapy session with openness and flexibility towards where the session will go, it can be helpful to get in the practice of preparing for your sessions and creating intentions for what you want to work on. This makes the hour more effective and likely more satisfying for you. Since you are investing your time, money and energy into your therapy sessions, you can honor your commitment to yourself by coming prepared.

Setting intentions and anticipating the way the session may go can also help you remember what you’ve been working on in past sessions and increase your awareness of the big picture themes in your life. It can help you to notice progress (and to celebrate it!) and also develop more confidence in being able to make changes that truly work for you.

Here are some tips for preparing for therapy sessions:

1. Preparing for your next therapy session should begin at the end of your current therapy session. If you don’t already take notes during the session, get into the habit of taking notes as soon as the session is over. Write down any insights, “ah-has,” or other moments of importance. This doesn’t have to be a huge task and can just be bullet points. But trust me, even if the session felt very meaningful at the time, you are not going to remember most of it if you don’t find some way to record what you did. Review what you wrote prior to your next therapy session and give yourself time to think about how things have gone since then.
2. During the days leading up to your session, ask yourself these questions:
   1. “If I had therapy today, what would I want to talk about?”
   2. “If my therapist were watching me live my life on a day to day, when would they see that I need the most help?”
3. Get in the habit of becoming very aware when something happens that feels disruptive, uncomfortable or stuck for you during the week. Notice that you are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, misaligned with your values, etc. Write this moment down. Keep a running list of these moments and review them before your next session.
4. If you already have a topic that you know you want to bring up in therapy, go one step further and ask yourself:
   1. “What is it that I am wanting to get out of this therapy session today?”
   2. “If I could distill this topic into one sentence or question, what would it be?”
5. On the night before or day of your therapy session, take some time to be undistracted with yourself and contemplate, “What is most alive in me right now to bring to therapy?” Don’t try to think or effort too hard, but instead, give yourself enough time and space to let thoughts and feelings come to you.