What sort of techniques will you be trying?

A lot depends on the issues you are going to therapy for as well as yourself and your T. Some issues are harder to work on than others. You sound very motivated, so that is a BIG plus. We never really tried to measure things too much, although my PNP does that, with Likert scales and such. There have been so many things that therapy has helped me with, and some of my biggest gains, and ones that have ended up being very important to me, have come in areas I didn't know I needed help with! After the first session, I felt my T pretty much "cured" my depression, even though I wasn't nearly as depressed as the year before I went to see him. (I didn't realize I was still depressed until I felt so much better after seeing him.) He gave me hope, and that made me feel much less depressed. I don't know if that is a technique but it helped me a lot. Things that took longer were processing trauma, learning to recognize that I was feeling something (I tended to stuff everything inside), and then to be able to name the feelings, and then to be able to express them. This went pretty slowly, and was not what I thought I would be helped with by going to therapy. But my gains in the "feelings" area have been huge. I have also learned to be a better listener, and to "hear" people better. And I have much better relationship and communication skills. I also feel more empowered, and I accomplished some very important tangible goals with my therapist's help, like getting a divorce.

I have been in therapy for 3 and a half years and we still are working on new material. I am still learning. I actually think I have made really fast progress, but probably some people might shudder and say, "three and a half years!?" But I did see some results quickly, as I mentioned. I guess one thought I would offer to anyone beginning therapy is to be open to being helped with things you may not have gone to therapy for in the first place. Be open to gains in areas you didn't even know existed. Good luck.