Do therapists offer solutions?

Often, when people start therapy sessions they expect their therapists to provide tangible answers or give “quick fixes” to their problems. In other words, they want specific, concrete solutions for whatever issues that are troubling them. But most therapists avoid giving their clients advice.

Should a therapist tell you their problems?

The basic rule of thumb is that therapists should not be getting their own needs met by self-disclosing to clients. Even in peer counseling programs such as AA, the leaders are usually those who no longer need to talk about their own struggles in every meeting.

Should my therapist give me homework?

Homework isn’t just something you deal with in school – it’s also a great tool that therapists use to help you work on a particular issue in between your sessions. If your therapist assigned a project or task for you to complete before your meeting, view it as a positive step in your overall outcome for therapy.

Should your therapist tell you what to do?

Telling You What To Do It’s OK for therapists to share their thoughts and opinions if you ask for advice, but they shouldn’t be ordering you around. Therapy is supposed to empower you and give you the cognitive skills to make great decisions. Telling you what to do defeats that purpose and is an ethical grey area.

Do therapists just listen?

After all, your therapist is a trained listener, not advice-giver. That does not mean your therapist is merely looking at you and listening while you talk. Any skilled therapist will be listening acutely for specific signals, which they then use to guide the direction of the conversation over time.

Do all therapists give homework?

CBT is not the only type of therapy to incorporate homework. Although each therapist makes his or her own choices regarding homework assignments, some of the other therapies that may assign homework include exposure therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and problem solving therapy.