[crk16]

I can't talk to my therapist that well because I'm shy. I dont know how to start a conversation and there's a lot I want to say but am too scared. She thinks I don't talk because i don't want to but its really just because im nervous. I've been to her about five times but im still shy. What can I do to help me open up more?

[ofthevalley]

Have you tried writing down what you want to say and presenting her with it? That's what I'm working on now. I tend to let the therapist lead discussions on what she wants but I need it to be geared towards what I'm going through so I'm making lists.

[catonyx]

Tell her you're having trouble talking about what you want to talk about. Just be open about your struggle with talking. Also, write it down and bring it in. I've done this. It helped a great deal.

I've been through this.

[pmbm]

Try telling her what you just said. That you want to open up but you feel too shy. I'm going to share that I was originally too shy also with my first therapist. I'm not sure why you are in therapy. But in the first year with my first therapist, we skirted around a lot of my trauma issues and only once did I outright admit that anybody ever hurt me. We talked about what was going on in my life. What worked and did not work in my life. What I've come to realize 25 years later, is that I was not too shy. I was shut down and lived in fear of anybody finding out all of the secrets I had. What really helped me was when I started writing things down and reading them to the therapist or having the therapist read them. The therapist also had my draw or color the answers to lots of questions. For the first year or two, mostly she asked questions and I answered them in as few words as possible.

[FranzJosef]

Part of T's job is to make it easier for you to talk.

[Achy Turtle Armor]

You could show her what you wrote here.