What to Expect from Counseling
How to Get the Most Out of Your Counseling Experience Go In With a “Growth Mindset.”
Be Ready to Make Positive Changes
- Change depends on your resources and abilities.
- Effective therapy uses your strengths to create possible solutions.
- Change depends on your perception of the therapist and the relationship formed in treatment.
- Effective therapy is based on a strong alliance.
- Change depends upon addressing what you want and fitting your views of change and inspiring the hope necessary for action.
- Effective counseling matches your theory of change.
- If you attend therapy expecting to go back to you childhood to find the roots of the problem and your counselor focuses on the present, someone is bound to be frustrated if that expectation is not brought up and discussed before you proceed.
- Also, you might indicate how long you had anticipated you would attend counseling and how often, to make sure you and the counselor are on the same track.
- Each counselor is unique.
- You can help your counselor by teaching them the style and questions you use that work best for you as an individual.
- That does not mean that you run the therapy session.
- The counselor does have expertise and good reasons for doing what they do, but a good counselor is also flexible.
- If you have been in counseling before and found some aspect or method particular helpful, let your therapist know about that.
- Like telling your counselor you expectations and letting them know what has worked or is helping, letting them know what something isn’t is important.
- This includes what is happening at home as well as during your counseling sessions.
- This give the counselor the opportunity for corrections in the counseling process.
- Counseling can be a challenging field of work.
- Your counselor sees people when they are at their most stressed and sometimes most impatient.
- Most counselors appreciate hearing that they have done something that worked or was helpful.
- This can also make your session experience more productive, since your counselor will have your feedback to guide them in future attempts to help you.
- Some people think that they should not speak up about their worries or objections to their counselor suggestions.
- Part of counseling involves having free and frank discussion about your misgiving.
- Letting your counselor know about your concerns helps them make any adjustments to ensure a higher likelihood of success.
- You can ask about the counseling process, different suggestions or methods, the counselor’s training and qualifications, or anything you are curious about.
- If it gets too personal or the counselor considers the question intrusive or inappropriate, they will let you know.
Vacant
Assistant Director, Counseling
University Wellness Center
