What Will We “Do” in Therapy?

“Doing” therapy?

Therapy with me generally begins with an assessment, which is when we talk about all the things that make you YOU. I’ll ask you about your physical health, your emotional and behavioral history, your family and social connections, your spiritual and cultural beliefs, and so on.

I enjoy this part because I love getting to know you. However, some of my younger clients have been known to get bored before it’s over, so prepare yourself. Once I’ve gathered the information I need, it gets more interesting as you and I work together to create a plan – your plan specific to your wants, needs, desires, and resources.

It’s about you setting some goals to begin changing the things you want to be different in your life.

Next, we get to the actual work of therapy.

I use games, toys, puzzles, worksheets, roleplay, and other therapeutic activities to help you learn and practice skills that will enable you to manage your emotions and behaviors so that you can achieve the goals that are important to you.

We may go outside or to another room in the building for more space – it just depends on what we’re working on. There will also be frequent homework, things to do between sessions to reinforce what’s learned in session and apply it to daily life.

Some of the things we do may be familiar to you. For example, playing Jenga shows me whether you have patience and focus and how you behave when you’re disappointed, frustrated, excited – or perhaps how you show off when you’ve had a few wins.

Sometimes, we may use something designed to target anger skills, relaxation strategies, or some other lesson related to your goals. You’re not as likely to be familiar with these made-for-therapy items, but keep an open mind and give them a chance.

And, yes, there are times when therapy is all about talking. For these times, I will certainly need you to participate honestly and diligently, so we can continue to move toward the life you’ve indicated you want to have.

Homework is about practicing what you learned in session.

For example, if you learn a new skill, you may be asked to practice it outside of therapy. If we stop in the middle of something, you may need to finish it at home.

Occasionally, there may be an assessment or worksheet that you will need to complete on your own. Homework is always something we’ve prepared for in our session, and it takes minimal time from your daily routines.

Weekly appointments usually work best.

As therapy progresses, we’ll likely decrease the frequency of visits. This will allow you to get used to depending more on yourself and less on therapy to manage your behavior and emotions.

It’s also possible there may be an occasion to increase the frequency of visits to improve results during a particular phase of our work.

The end depends on the progress made.

Once you achieve all that you set out to achieve, we’ll determine if you’re ready to end therapy and take your new-found insight and skills to go your own way.

Or we’ll create a new plan to continue our work together based on new discoveries or changes in your therapy needs.

Office or teletherapy visits are offered.

Office Visits are the traditional way to conduct therapy sessions and, barring exceptions for social-distancing or other extreme circumstances, they are always an option.

The office is casual, comfortable, and private. Preferred Practice is conveniently located one block from the Booth Road Walmart in Warner Robins and is less than a mile from Robins Air Force Base.

Teletherapy is conducted through secure video transmission that lets us see and hear each other in real-time – right now, as it is said or done. Preferred Practice teletherapy meets all HIPAA standards for privacy, and clients have told me that our audio-video performance exceeds that of providers such as Zoom or Skype.

Teletherapy is not appropriate for every client or situation and may be denied, paused, or terminated if your needs cannot be met by this means.