[fishjam]

I'm starting therapy soon but before this I've done a lot of reading/research/self-help books in the years I was purposely avoiding therapy and have sort of tentatively self-diagnosed myself in a "this sounds plausible" type of way (bipolar II, depression, cptsd, and some form of anxiety are the ones that seem likely to me). I've also been told that I have a surprising amount of self-awareness for someone who hasn't done therapy yet but I think that's probably because of all the self-help books I read in an effort to avoid therapy altogether.

Did anyone else go into therapy for the first time with a lot of background information? Should I mention that I've done a lot of research and think certain conditions might apply to me? Or should I just talk about symptoms/answer questions and not mention my opinion?

I read a bit about going to therapy for the first time in articles and some say to go in with reset expectations and others say that you're the expert on yourself and it's generally made me more confused about how to approach it.

[Omers]

I did an incredible amount of reading/research, even got a bachelors degree in psychology... personally I would mention it up front as some T’s find it extremely intimidating or think you are using it as a defense and get put off by it. My current T does very well with it. Sometimes it helps to find a T who is also a licensed supervisor as they are less likely to get flustered with it.

[fishjam]

Thank you for sharing that. I didn't realize it could be viewed that way. I think I'll be upfront about it, if no other reason than to figure out if we're a good fit faster.