I have a 35 min walk to get to session. Initially I'd listen to audiobook, then moved to music, finally nothing. Listening to nothing allows me to think about the upcoming session and allow my mind time to drift. Most the time this is helpful; sometimes it will bring on more anxiety and makes it harder to talk.

When I first started therapy, I had a running list of topics that I wrote out on a sticky note. I'd pull that out at the beginning of session and pick from the list what I felt I could talk about. There were things that never got talked about, things that stayed on the list for a long time before they were talked about and so on. When I would struggle about talking about something specific, I'd let T know that I have something to talk about and I'm struggling with sharing it. There were also times where I'd typed out the more difficult topics and read to her or had her read it to herself.

I don't know about you but for me, sometimes doing something physical can help break the ice; something that represents opening up or letting in; or just something that is a distraction so that the talking can occur while my body is busy doing something else thus activating both sides of my brain at the same time.