Preparing for Therapy: A Toolkit

Have you been thinking about starting therapy?

We love that mental health care is becoming more common and more openly discussed in our current culture. But, while the benefits of trying therapy are becoming more and more well known, there’s little information out there on the nitty gritty details of the process–which can make an intimidating process seem even more daunting.

To help, we put together this toolkit to help walk you through the beginning steps of the therapeutic process, and the obstacles it can present. 

The first obstacle is finding a therapist. 

It’s hard enough to be vulnerable with someone about your mental health, so you want to make sure that the therapist you choose to work with makes you feel comfortable. 

If you’d like to start working with a therapist and you don’t know where to start, you’re not alone. Choosing a therapist that is right for you can be a daunting task, especially when you have limited time and resources. But there are resources out there that can help make this part of the process easier for you. 

Get those resources to help support you as you look for the right clinician here: 7 Tips for Choosing the Right Therapist. 

Part of selecting a therapist is also selecting a therapy modality:

Therapy isn’t a one size fits all kind of deal. 

Mental health is vast, and there are different approaches that therapists take to support their clients in the therapeutic process. When therapists are in school, they are taught about many different approaches, or modalities, to therapy that they can use with clients. 

By utilizing different therapy modalities, therapists can tailor their treatment to their individual client. Different modalities might also be a natural fit at different points in a person’s therapeutic journey. Someone might come into therapy for one issue, and then move to working on something different once the first issue is under control. Being able to draw on multiple modalities allows therapists to explore what fits with each client’s goals and needs. 

Read more about common therapy modalities to help you choose which is the right fit for you here: An Introduction to 6 Common Therapy Modalities

Therapy is a vulnerable space, and part of what makes it hard to jump in is the fear of being harmed in that space. 

Language is a key way we express our values–so looking into the language your therapist uses on their site–whether in reference to gender, sexuality, race, physical ability, and of course mental health concerns–is a good step to take when considering if a practice is the right fit for you. 

For example, while high and low functioning are terms we commonly encounter in the mental health care industry, we think the unintentional meanings attached to them are more harmful than the terms are useful. 

We’d like our clients to be familiar with the general usage of the terms within the industry, so that they can understand them when they encounter them outside of our care, but within our own work, we prioritize client centered language. We want the language we use with our clients to be supportive tools for them, rather than something that others or belittles them. 

Read more about the importance of language in a care setting in our piece: Retiring High & Low Functioning: Why Language Matters in Care

Once you’ve chosen a therapist, what should you expect from the therapeutic process?

Even with the popularity of therapy on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, asking for help with your mental health isn’t easy to do. If you’re thinking about starting therapy, give yourself a huge pat on the back. In a culture that tells us “good vibes only” at every turn, it’s hard to admit that you’re struggling or that you’d like more support. 

There’s a lot of information online about therapy that isn’t actually true. It’s wonderful that more and more people are talking about mental health on social media, but the overwhelming amount of mental health content can make it tricky to find information that’s accurate and helpful. 

You can check out what we think you should know about starting therapy in our blog: 5 Things To Know About Starting Therapy

Remember, it’s common to feel nervous before your first appointment. 

You’re starting something new, where you’re going to have to ask yourself to be vulnerable with someone you don’t know that well, and you might not have any idea what you’re walking into.  

Despite what you may have seen on TV, therapy doesn’t start by jumping into your deepest, most intimate vulnerabilities. There’s actually some administrative stuff to cover before you get into it. You might have gotten forms ahead of time, or you might be filling them out at the time of your first appointment, but either way your therapist will want to go over the details of those forms with you before you jump into treatment. 

Take some time to ease your anxiety about your first appointment by reading through our guide: Your First Therapy Session: What Should You Expect?

If you’re ready to start therapy, our therapists at Anchor Counseling New York can provide you with a safe and stable environment to empower your growth and healing. Our therapists are accepting new clients - schedule an appointment today to get started.