Do you know what you are "working" on in therapy for?

Answered other...with regular T it is less clear in that I went in to help me deal with trying to be a good mom, wife and just figure out to happy. I am my worst enemy and T and I habe worked hard to get me where we are today. But I am still a work in process. With EMDR to we are working on dealing with my childhood trauma in order for it to no longer have such conteol over my life

I was about to say 'Yes' and then type more words until something that sounded reasonable resulted.

But, like The Office's boss, in a much more real sense, I have no idea why I go.

To reclaim my time, maybe?

I would answer the poll, but that's not a thing Tapatalk can do. I know what I'm working on, though it's evolved since I started going. I'm trying to work through the neglect I experienced and how that inhibits my ability to form healthy attachments.

I feel like there should be an option, "I don't know why I go but my therapist does".

Then again, I'm not sure I'd have picked that either -- quite literally current T has asked me a bunch of times as to why I show up to see her.

It seems we're both equally puzzled by my tendency to do so.

I picked the first option, but I do wish the poll had a simple ""yes" option beside the "I think I know" one. I'm open to new goals but I have several already that I know pretty well.

On the other hand, another potentially interesting question I wonder about reading this is whether or not my therapist knows what we're working toward. Usually he remembers and he knows me quite well, but sometimes he'll say something that makes me think he doesn't actually get all my therapy goals or process.

This site does not let the OP edit polls.
Polls are not perfect.
I understand that often one wants a different choice in polls- I would think one could just either pick the closest to you (this is not set in stone or going on anyone's permanent record) or "other", don't bother with it at all, or make your own poll and do it better than you think I did.
The pollster's lot is not an easy one.

agreed! i have missed your polls.

Last session, I suspiciously accused my therapist of having a hidden agenda which I can't decipher.

She asked me what I thought we're working on. I replied "for me to become more psychologically flexible". She asked what that meant to me, and I said I wanted to learn to accept myself. She replied that I did indeed have a general idea of where therapy is headed.

My presenting problem is chronic anxiety, and she believes I've to address the root cause of unresolved trauma experienced during my upbringing.

I also hope to work with her on differentiating from my family of origin, individualization from my family of origin, become less of a codependent fuelling the family dynamics, expanding my social supports, prepare to immigrate from my country.

With LGBT T, I defined my goals in the first session (scheduled the second appointment after some time). They are identity acceptance, getting more involved in the community, and preparing for and starting the coming out process.

I'm suprised that everyone knows. I have no idea.
Well - i have nothing to work on.
I know I'll never get "better" (not whinning! it's true).

He just helps me and gives me one happy hour fortnightly.

My first goal, back when I saw my first T was just to "be less anxious and unhappy", it wasn't clear at all.

It can be very hard to have any goals or hope or good feelings when you're very depressed, as you are. *hugs*

The fact that you feel slightly better with T is important: It shows what you lack outside therapy to a certain extent. I know with myself, I lack supportive, non judgmental and safe local friendships. So I'm very attached to T.

Mine is a yes and no. I go to stress specific things, but because we don't know what causes them out even what the underlying issues are, we just explore.

Gosh, yes!

I want to stay in touch with the softer, more connected parts of me which get lost when I let life overwhelm me.
I want to be able to better regulate my emotions so that my relationships are better and I feel better
I want to feel like the past is the past, and not have it crash into the present so much - some days it feels like so many feelings from the past are there, there's no room for a 'now' life
On the same note, I want to be able choose how and where I live, what I do and where I go without having to fight flashbacks and becoming overwhelmed by memories
I want to forgive myself the things I did to cope with having been neglected and abused in the past - these things still give me so much shame.
I want to have all of the pieces of me in the same place at the same time, which just never seems to happen.
I want to feel safe, protected and able to protect myself, comfort and feel comforted by somebody else without it being so damned terrifying that my head lifts off my body.

Yeah I wouldn't have a clue. And I do let the therapist do what she does. I don't know what we're working towards, but I know that if I give up, there's nothing else for me. So, I'll just continue to let her do her thing, and see what happens.

It has been a while since I was in therapy. I had a few goals when I started therapy.

1). Accept my mental diagnoses
2). Understand why I have this mental illness
3). Learn where do I go from here

I was able to complete my goals by getting a better understanding of my diagnoses. Once I completed my goals I stopped going to therapy.

I have no clue!