How much do you talk during a session?

We have a lot of silence. Me feeling safe enough to talk is a struggle, so T lets me talk when I feel it’s okay to, he never breaks a silence and takes over. We probably only talk about 50-60% of a session. When we do talk, it’s probably a 40/60 split with me speaking less. Maybe even 30/70. He does a lot of what I would guess is psychoeducation.

I am glad I control when we talk, even though I am sometimes uncomfortable with the silence. And I often feel I am getting something from the silences.

Usually, my sessions were very much a conversation. The exception to that was when I was severely depressed. When my depression level was high, I spoke much less because just forming a full thought was like wading through quicksand. My therapist could generally gauge my level of depression by my ability to communicate.

It depends on my mood. I am more than happy just to sit in silence and defiantly stare at the wall until he talks. Sometimes I will talk a lot, sometimes not much at all. I know some people have no trouble filling the silence in therapy and Ts often use it to their advantage..... I am too stubborn for that. Lol. I will say that, regardless of how much you talk or don't talk, comparing the way your therapy looks to the way other people do therapy is like comparing apples and broccoli. They're not even in the same category. Your relationship with your T should be tailored to your needs so, if silence is what works, then go with it. If you don't care so much for the quiet, bring it up and give your T a chance to adjust her approach. Best of luck to you!

When use to go to therapy sometimes there were awkward silences.