Back in May of this year, Emily shared a blog about 5 things to know about coming to therapy. Now, we bring you a follow-up of 6 things to know about therapists. Mostly about the things we do outside of your therapy sessions.

1. We document every session.

We have to, it’s a huge part of our job for both ethical and liability reasons. Want to know a secret? Most of us hate this part of our job. A LOT. We went into therapy to help people, not write notes! But it’s necessary on many levels. We include brief details about what was discussed in session, therapeutic techniques used, and future plans or assignments between sessions. It’s a part of your personal chart. It helps us remember past sessions. It helps tell your therapy ‘story.’ It shows progress toward your goals. Documentation is kept insanely safe in our Electronic Health Record (EHR) just like at your physician’s office. Only your therapist, and usually their supervisor(s), has access to your chart.

2. We attend continuing education.

Per our licenses and certifications, no matter which license and certification(s) we hold, we have to attend a certain amount of continuing education each year. This comes in the form of conferences, online sessions, live classes, and sometimes reading and responding to articles from our professional organizations. Mental health is always changing and evolving. It is our professional responsibility to stay current with information. This is all in effort to be the best therapists we can be for you.

3. We read.

Ever notice all the books in therapists’ offices? We’ve read either the entire book or relevant parts of it. Sometimes we re-read said books or parts. Again, all in effort to stay current, knowledgeable, and the best we can be for our clients. We also read articles, case studies, and review our old textbooks. This is typically done “off the clock.”

4. We think about you outside of the session.

Not in a weird way, but in a way that something may strike us as we go about our days or something that may remind us of you in the form of ‘that could be something to discuss with so-and-so!’ As therapists, we are trained to separate work from home, but we are also caring humans so there are times when we think about you outside of the session. We also are involved in peer consult groups which are safe groups to bounce ideas off of each other to further help our clients. In consultation, confidentiality is always protected; we never say names or identifiable features, we briefly state the area in which we need help, we listen for feedback, then consultation is done. Finally, we sometimes think about you even if you aren’t a client anymore. We hope that you’re doing well and that we helped with that, even just a little bit.

5. We get therapy, too.

Yep, you read that correctly. We seek our own therapy, too. There is no rule about therapists seeking therapy, but we know when we need to safely unload all the things we carry in our jobs. Some graduate school programs suggest therapists seek their own therapy every 5 years. Going to therapy is a good thing, and it’s a good thing that we believe in it so strongly that we do it for ourselves too!

6. We want you to leave therapy.

We want you to heal, feel good, and move on from us. We love seeing clients succeed and maintain their lives in a healthy way. We love that final session when we both get the chance to celebrate your progress. Discharging from therapy and saying goodbye can be hard (for us too!) but ultimately our goal is for you to move on without us. We want you to do well!

The therapeutic relationship is a unique and special one. It requires us knowing a lot about you and you knowing very little about us in most cases. But under all of that, we are humans, and we want what is best for you!