Commit to the process
Without your personal commitment, you will never get the benefits that you deserve from therapy. This doesn't mean that your therapist is the right one for you or the therapy style fits your personality well. However, giving things an honest chance makes you more informed as you make the decisions that best fit you. Therapy is meant to benefit you, you are the main character in the story.
Be honest with your therapist
This is the toughest step in the process. For me, making a commitment to being honest with my therapist means that I have to be honest with myself as well. This makes it tough. The most important piece of honesty I ever gave my therapist was the answer “I don't know.” Sometimes it's hard to admit to other people that you don't know. But once you get comfortable with that, it makes it even easier to be honest with yourself.
Do the work
You have to commit to doing the work. For me that often means spending small amount of time every day sorting out my own thoughts, opinions and feelings. I only meet with my therapist once a week or once a month so I have to do a lot of “homework”. With time, it becomes easier to do the work but, in the beginning, it is definitely challenging. So, I will encourage you to do the work you deserve, to spend time with yourself. For others doing the work may mean something different - It may mean asking people around you tough questions to help with assessments, changing certain habits and patterns in your life, implementing new coping mechanisms in your life. Whether the tools you get from therapy work or not you must at least give them a try so that you make informed decisions.
Be open minded
This obviously means different things to different people. So please allow yourself to walk a little bit outside your comfort zone. Be willing to experiment a little!
