How To Get The Most Out Of Online Therapy In Maryland
Online therapy in Maryland can provide consistent support, without the commute.
Ok, so you’ve decided that online therapy is worth a try. Maybe you love the idea of saving time on the commute to appointments or it’s the easiest way to see the therapist you want to see. Perhaps you used to see a therapist in-person but they shut their physical office down in the pandemic and are now all-virtual. Let’s talk about how to make the most out of working together online.
Setting up online therapy in maryland
Some prior blog posts addressed issues around how to find the right therapist to work with you, FAQs about online therapy and what to expect in a first session. If you want to start with some of that information, scroll through the blog for those prior posts. Once you’ve found someone and scheduled a time to meet, what can you do to get the most out of your sessions? Read on!
Protect your time and space for therapy
Therapy is a very personal thing—you’re going to talk with someone about your thoughts, feelings and challenges. That can be pretty vulnerable and it’s important to feel that you have the privacy to have those kinds of conversations. Make sure that you are set up in a private location for your scheduled appointment time. If you are in a separate room of a shared space of a home or an office, you can create more privacy by using headphones and/or using a white noise machine outside the door of the room you are in. Make sure others know that you are not to be disturbed during this time.
Speaking of being disturbed, it’s helpful to guard against digital disruptions during your session as well. Once you and your therapist are connected, you can turn on Do Not Disturb features, disable notifications or turn off other devices, in order to be able to focus on this time that is just for you.
Should I come Prepared with an agenda?
Everybody works best in different ways. Some people get a lot out of taking some time before a therapy session to reflect on what’s been happening since the last session and/or consider what feels really important to address in the upcoming session. Because it can be hard to remember everything that we have going on, some folks find that taking a few notes on this is helpful and bring those notes into the session. A notebook can be helpful in seeing how things change over time as you work on them.
Many other people do not find that kind of deliberate preparation helpful and that’s totally ok! There’s a lot that is going on moment to moment than can be relevant to your therapy goals and we can jump right in wherever you are at that time. Personally, I think that if you show up with a willingness to be honest about what’s happening in your life and fully present to the therapy session time, great work can happen.
What If There’s Stuff I don’t want to talk about?
Your therapy time is for you! There may be some really good reasons for why there is stuff you don’t want to talk about, and you get to be the one to decide if or when that happens. Part of healthy communication is being able to let someone know what works for you and what doesn’t. If there is something that the therapist thinks is really important to address, they’ll bring it up. But it’s an invitation, not a command.
Therapists Are Not Mind readers
Ok, I don’t know every therapist in the world and maybe there is one that’s a mind reader. But I don’t know them. And I know that I’m not a mind reader! If there is something that you really want to address in a session, bring it up. You don’t have to wait for the therapist to bring it up. It can be extremely frustrating to leave a session feeling like you didn’t really get to talk about the one thing that was most pressing for you that day. But your therapist won’t know that this is on your mind if you don’t bring it up. So, be clear about what you are really wanting to talk about when we meet if there is something big on your heart or mind.
Leverage the benefits of online therapy
As we talked about in the blog post regarding FAQs about online therapy, everything has its pros and cons. If you are going to give online therapy a try, leverage the benefits of it to get even more out of your experience. One of the big benefits that we’ve talked about is the time saved from not having to commute to and from the appointment. For some people that can save up to an hour or more of time! Even if it would have been a short commute for you, the time you saved can be leveraged well by investing some of that time for yourself. A whole lot can come up in a therapy session! Lots of ideas, feelings, insights, reactions, etc. Giving yourself a little bit of time after a session to integrate what’s come up for you can really pay off in the interval between one session and the next.
Some people find that taking 10 minutes to write some notes for themselves after the session helps consolidate the insights they’ve had and create a vision for how to bring them into their next week, and help to remember all of it between sessions. Other people can greatly benefit from letting their nervous system settle down a bit, if a lot has been stirred up in an appointment, before jumping into the next part of their day. That might mean a short walk outside, a quick personal dance party to shake it all off for one song, having some water or a snack while looking out the window and just watching the world for a moment, or texting a close friend for a moment to enjoy some supportive connection. Again, even just 10 minutes for this kind of activity can make a big difference in the rest of your day and week.
ONline THerapy IN Maryland
I hope this helps you get the most out of online therapy in Maryland. If you have other questions, feel free to call me at (301) 818-3978 or contact me here for a free 15-minute phone consultation. I’d be happy to hear about what is happening and see if I can help point you in the right direction so you can get the support or assistance you need and deserve. To learn about the services I offer in College Park and online in Maryland, check out my home page.
