Next Session Worksheet/After a while
- Review all previous worksheets and take note of any changes.
- If my needs/themes are the same as previous sessions:
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- Have I already dissected the issue to have a general understanding of why I am stuck?
- Have I used all my tools and done everything suggested between my sessions to help myself move forward?
- Have I been honest with myself about what I may not be ready to do and honor that I may simply need more time to be in my experience just as it is (at least for now)?
- If there are no major crises and there are no further changes I am ready to make between sessions, what am I getting out of therapy that is different than what I can get from a loved one/friend or self-work?
CONNECTION: Have I tried to cultivate the level of transparency, depth, and safe space in my conversations with my support system, like I have with Jes?
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- Next step: Expand my search for connections and spaces that have similar energy as my therapy.
- Next step: Consider con-joint counseling at this point with a partner, parent/sibling/adult child, friend, colleague, etc.
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VALIDATION: Do I need to work on trusting myself more?
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- Next step: Space out my appointments to practice building my internal muscles and/or to wait until I actually need an appointment.
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SELF CARE: Do I need to transfer my energy/time/money that I’ve been putting into therapy appointments into appointments with myself?
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- Next step: Set a date for self-care that is either calming, devoted to a project/task, a joy, etc
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4. Shifting from Focused Therapy to Booster Sessions (booking sessions only as needed) or Supportive Therapy (with a counselor who does Supportive Therapy).
Life is a series of stressors and delights. There will always be difficulties, unwanted surprises, and tension you will be navigating through. Supportive therapy is to help you with exactly this- to process the ongoing, general and daily struggles of this life.
Focused therapy is much more laser-focused about clarifying your core values, needs, wounds, and patterns that arise because they are unresolved in you. Focused therapy is about seeing the through-line in some of your problems and synthesizing your life lessons into your own personal wisdom. The goal is to build an internal wisdom that replaces the therapist as you begin trusting yourself more and more to guide you and hold your own hand through the tumult of life. Therefore, focused therapy means still doing Next Session Worksheets before every session, preemptively generating your own solutions in therapy (based on what you’ve learned about yourself), and enacting changes outside of session so as to not repeat the same self-wounding.
Supportive and focused therapy are both worthwhile and beautiful- they are just different. Really ask yourself which kind of help is best for what you want your sessions to feel like.