Does anybody ever take in a list of what they want to discuss?

[shrinknightmare]

Just wondering if anybody takes in a list of what they want to discuss?

I have written it down and then discretely taken it out of my pocket and referred to it. Sometimes the counsellor has asked what this bit of paper is, but I don't say.

[Daisychain]

I always take a list with me.It was my counsellor's suggestion for me to do this. I sometimes just give her the list and she will work from it. It's ideal for when I can't say things aloud sometimes,she will just read it and talk about it when I am prepared.

[Katmandu40]

Wow! What a great idea!! I've gone in with things I have written for her to read, but never did a list...never really occured to me Duh!! I ALWAYS have trouble coming up with something to say...I go blank.

By the way, there is nothing wrong with telling your counsellor about it!

[shrinknightmare]

I tell my counsellor about it, but I don't actually show her the list, because I work my way through it and some questions I am a bit worried about asking her and depending on her responses to my questions will depend on which question I ask next. I once asked her if she had had anyone die on her.

I have asked her questions about my daughter's autopsy, and even wanted to show her a photo of her deceased at the scene, but she refused to look at it. I had some valid questions, I thought if a pyschiatrist refuses to look at this then who can i discuss this with. the photos were not that bad.

I have also showed her photos of my ipod and given her a DVD of my daughter about 8 weeks before she died.

[Jenny]

When i first started therapy i used to use the week or the drive to the session to think of what i should say just in case there was a silence or anything. So i'd always turn up with about 5 subjects i could talk about that i'd more or less prepared in my head..

.. and i told her about this. I told her it was my fear of silence.. my fear of "getting it wrong". We explored it and slowly i found myself not needing to prepare what i was going to talk about. I found myself finding silences ok.. enjoyable even!

So, no i never went in with a list because i decided i would see where the session would take me at the time, see what was brought up and how i felt while in there. It worked well for me :)