A clinical psychologist
in Bellevue, Washington can help you enhance your relationships and work to
resolve multiple types of problems. With therapeutic programs such as couple’s
counseling and anger resolution, a qualified clinician can identify potentially
problematic behavior or communication patterns and construct a treatment strategy
to help you utilize your strengths and identify new skills. But before you make
your first appointment with a clinical psychologist, there are a few things you
can do to get the most out of your sessions. Listed below are a few items you
may want to try prior to scheduling your initial consultation.
Write,
Write, Write
One of the best things
you can do is to identify the key events and primary stressors in your life.
Instead of going into your first appointment with a local clinician with
general complaints, having a targeted list of problems that you would like to
address will guide your chosen clinical psychologist to the issues that you
find burdensome. Always keep a small notebook handy so that you can write your
feelings down in the moment. Relying on memory alone will leave out the
majority of the critical details that may—or may not—be of consequence during
therapy sessions. Try to be as detailed as you can in your written assessment
by using these tips:
·
Pay close attention to your physical
feelings when your emotional responses are high. Sometimes strong emotions such
as anger and stress will cause autonomic responses throughout your body that
your therapist may need to be aware of.
·
Try to describe the situation right
after an incident that triggers you as completely as you can. Then after a few
hours, re-evaluate the event with a cooler head.
·
Explore as much of the situation as you
can from as many different viewpoints as possible. Include any lead up events
that you can identify; however, this should be done objectively. Try writing
down just the order of events without any emotions tied to them.
·
Honesty is the only policy when it comes
to therapy. The clinical psychologist you select will need the unadulterated
truth, no matter how unflattering it is to anyone in a given situation. The
more upfront you can be with your therapist, the easier it will be to suggest
coping mechanisms and alternative ways of dealing with certain situations.
Additionally, if you
are interested in couple’s counseling, you will want to encourage your partner
to use these same steps to prepare for an initial session.
Information
Gathering
Another helpful
activity you can do ahead of time is make sure you have all pertinent
information for billing purposes gathered up and in one place for your first
appointment. Make sure that if you have insurance that covers mental health
treatment, the clinical psychologist in Bellevue, Washington that you have
chosen accepts that type of coverage you have.
You can also request to
fill out the new patient questionnaire and any other materials ahead of time by
speaking with a clinical psychologist’s office staff members. If you complete
the financial forms and assessment paperwork before your appointment, you can
be certain that your needs will be met and that your insurance carrier will
cover your visit.
For more information
about getting the most out of a treatment path with a qualified clinical psychologist in Bellevue WA, please click on the provided link to review one of
the local industry experts. You can also call (425) 451-2116 with any questions
you may have about couple’s counseling or individual therapy.
