The first step is reaching out and connecting with a form of support. Consult someone you know and trust, a primary care physician or friend who may know someone qualified to work with the specific issues you are facing. Exploring different types of therapy may be useful in finding what you are drawn toward or what you feel most open to. Help is available and accessible, reach out and get started on your road to recovery.

Spending a few minutes on the phone or emailing can be helpful to determine whether it feels like a good fit or not. Reading about the types of services a mental health professional is important to see if they offer or specialize in what type of therapy you’re looking to receive. For instance, if someone doesn’t specialize in working with children and you are looking for whole family therapy they most likely wouldn’t work out long-term.

Talk therapy should be an open-ended dialogue about concerns, emotional issues, or trauma someone is facing. The provider may take notes while someone is sharing information. This is to help ensure long term memory of important details or themes to come back to, to ensure optimal progress of the therapy process. The goal is to be able to help eliminate or control symptoms or negative behaviors so a person can function better, increasing well-being and healing.

Therapy is different for everyone, however, there are a few things that are generally helpful to all of us - Don’t be overly concerned about being polite, If something comes up that doesn’t feel right during a session, talk to them about it. Don’t keep things to yourself, don’t be afraid to be authentic, let your emotions show and flow, and try not to focus only on symptom relief. By avoiding the things listed above, a therapist can help mitigate negative symptoms and also get to the root of why those behaviors and/or symptoms are there in the first place.