Tips for Recalling Therapy Sessions after They’re Over
Most people learn a lot about themselves in therapy, but the learning doesn’t stop when the session is over. One of the keys to productive therapy sessions is that in your day-to-day life, you put into practice what you learn in those sessions. However, many people also find that this can be difficult for many reasons. One reason why it’s hard is simply that it’s difficult to remember what happens in therapy sessions once they’re over.
Why are Therapy Sessions Hard to Recall?
When you’re in a therapy session, the issues you’re discussing with your therapist may seem crystal clear. At the end of the session, you feel like you have a new sense of purpose and direction, and you’re ready to put into practice what you’ve learned. But the next day, you realise you don’t have a clear recollection of what you talked about during the session. It’s a common problem, for a couple of reasons.
One is in a therapy session you’re specifically focusing on problems such as emotional issues or past trauma—things that can feel vague, intangible, and hard to articulate let alone talk about. This means that once the session is over and you’re back in the real world, it’s easy to lose the insight you just gained. Another reason is simply that if you become particularly emotional during a session, it immediately becomes more difficult to focus on the details of what you’re discussing.
What Can You do About It?
Therapy is most successful when you can keep a sense of momentum going, by building on what you learn in past sessions during each new one. It’s also important that you’re able to take what you learn with you in everyday life—so to get the most benefit out of therapy, remembering what you discuss in each session is vital.
Taking notes may seem like a good solution, but it can actually be counter-productive. It’s hard to focus on a discussion if you’re taking notes, and if you’re too busy writing to participate fully in the session it’s distracting for both you and your therapist.
One possible alternative is to spend most of the session talking in the usual way, and then spend the last five minutes going over the session and jotting down a few notes. Alternatively, you could make a point of writing down a few notes immediately after the session, before you go home. Another possible solution is to record the session, if both you and your therapist agree to do so.
Whatever solution you choose, the important points are that you and your therapist are both willing to try it, and that it doesn’t detract from the therapy itself.