To be completely honest, I did not think that the title of this article would ever reign true to me. And if it were to, not in the ways that it has. I find it to be so interesting how much going to therapy for only two months now has changed my outlook on so many things throughout my life. Now I know that that seems like such a small amount of time, and it is, but realistically when you think about it, one hour a week for eight weeks is a total of eight hours of straight insight. I have found myself thinking about and reflecting on things within my life that I never even knew correlated. Therapy really can change your life too, and here’s how.
First of all, before we can even reach any level of success in therapy, we need to do our research. Finding a good therapist whom you trust and can really vibe with is just the beginning. Most of the time, your insurance will cover some of, hopefully most, and if you’re lucky, all of the costs that pertain to your mental health. So that is step one, either contacting your insurance company or visiting their website. This will list the variety of providers that your insurance covers.
Once you find someone, contact them! Reach out and make an appointment, most of the time your initial visit is somewhere around thirty minutes, and consists of just a general “Get to Know Me.” Not only is this beneficial to you, but also to the therapist. It ensures not only that this person will be a good fit for you, but it also ensures them that their scope of practice fits your needs. Having this initial visit can build the foundation of the relationship that you have with them, or maybe it will show you that this person is not meant for you, and to exhaust your other options instead.
Finding the therapist for you leads us into the most important aspect of this whole process, YOU! Now it is up to you to attend your appointments and talk as much or as little as you desire. Your therapist is meant to be there for you and talk you through any difficulties or victories behind, in front of, or even ahead of you. This is your time! Things are meant to go at your pace, and it is up to you what topics you want to bring up at every session. For me, I am the kind of person who could sit and talk to my therapist for hours on end, and I try my hardest to take everything away from it that I possibly can.
The funny thing is, sometimes minutes, hours, or even days after a session, I will find some sort of connection to a topic I talked about. A helpful tip I have is to write, write, write! Write everything down, things you want to discuss in your next session, things you realized afterwards, anything and everything! I have found that the silly little list titled “therapy” that I have in the notes on my phone has come to be something I really cherish. It shows me the obstacles that I have overcome, as well as the ones I have yet to tackle. It can often just be funny to reread a three-word phrase I jotted down in the middle of my day to make sure I didn’t forget a specific topic.
Overall, I have found this process to be very fulfilling, as well as enlightening. I have gained so much insight not only about myself, but about the relationships I have built with others around me. I would totally recommend everyone give it a shot, and if it doesn’t work for you, that’s okay too! However, I have found that the more people who try it, the more they end up loving it! :)