I can relate to the not wasting a session thing. This is a big issue for me too. The T I had (not the last one, the one before - a psychotherapist) wasn't much into me bringing in lists etc and wanted me to just go with the flow. I wasted 3.5 years with that woman (with no results whatsoever) because of this - she just wanted the cash in hindsight. I am not a person who makes the same mistake twice, so that is why it is an issue for me too.

If you are paying money, I would say bring a list. You can never tell which psychs are in it for the money and who aren't. They are all businesses underneath everything, their purpose is to make money. If you aren't paying for the sessions (community mental health etc) then yeah you can get away with going in there with nothing. Mine is community mental health so its free, so I can get away with that.

If I ever magically get the ability to get a job and can pay for therapy, I will never again "go with the flow". Its inefficient. You don't know what is relevant and what isn't. You waste years of time talking about irrelevent stuff and therefore you get no results. You might as well throw your money off a cliff! Same thing