People consider therapy for many reasons. For most of them that’s all they do, consider it. There are all sorts of reasons for this and I’ve written before about some in 10 Reasons People Don’t Seek Therapy, so I won’t repeat myself here. The fact remains that many more people consider and reject therapy, than actually make it as far as attending their first appointment.

Something I didn’t say in that post was that of the relatively few people (statistically speaking) who make it to therapy, the ones who do the best – they make progress in the short term and get on with their lives – know what they are aiming for.

They may not know how to go about it (though a surprising number do), but they arrive with a particular mindset. They are open minded about the possibility of change and accept that uncertainty and discomfort are part of the process, at least until they have reassured themselves that they can work with the therapist they have chosen.

Helping the client develop both their thinking, harness their emotional resources and build the confidence to use them is also the job of the therapist. The critical first step though is to accept that uncertainty is part of the process.