This Question Will Help You Get the Most Out of Therapy
It’s also a clarifying prompt when you just want to self-reflect
I started going to therapy because I wanted to figure out who I was after leaving the company I spent a decade of my life building. Then I began feeling like I was failing as a parent. Then my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Then Covid-19 hit.
Through it all, therapy was a huge source of strength and stability. My friends now see me as a therapy veteran, maybe because I’m always talking about the things I’ve learned from my therapist. One day, a friend came to me with a question: She was about to start going to therapy herself but wasn’t sure how to make the most of her time there. She asked me whether she should bring a photo album featuring all the characters in her life in order to get her therapist “up to speed” on her backstory.
I told her that would be unnecessary. Really, there was only one piece of information she needed to bring: “Just tell her what you are most ashamed of right now,” I said. That would be enough to help her therapist understand exactly who she was.
It’s something I’ve long been doing in my own sessions, and I’ve found it to be a powerful prompt for self-reflection. When my therapist asks me “How are you doing?” I respond, “The…
