Finding therapy can feel overwhelming. This simple checklist helps you prepare, ask the right questions, and feel confident in your choices.
Before Starting Therapy
☐ Identify your needs, are you looking for support with anxiety, depression, stress, or something else?
☐ Decide your priorities, is speed, cost, or specialist experience most important to you?
☐ Check availability, do you want sessions online, in person, evenings, or weekends?
☐ Set a budget, know what you can realistically spend each week or month.
Questions to Ask a Therapist
☐ What experience and qualifications do you have?
☐ Have you worked with people facing challenges like mine?
☐ What type of therapy do you offer, and how does it work?
☐ How long are sessions, and how many might I need?
☐ What are your fees, and do you offer sliding scales or reduced rates?
During the First Sessions
☐ Do I feel comfortable and listened to?
☐ Is the therapist’s style supportive for me?
☐ Do I understand the goals we’re setting together?
☐ Are practical things (time, location, format) working smoothly?
Ongoing Therapy
☐ Notice how you feel after sessions, lighter, clearer, more hopeful?
☐ Review your progress every few sessions with your therapist.
☐ Speak up if something isn’t working, therapy is a partnership.
☐ Remember, it’s okay to change therapist if you don’t feel a good fit.
Practical Extras
☐ Save your therapist’s contact details and session times in your calendar.
☐ Prepare a small notebook to track feelings or insights between sessions.
☐ Have a plan for urgent support (e.g. GP, Samaritans on 116 123).
Key Reminder
Therapy is a process, not a quick fix. Taking the time to prepare, ask questions, and reflect makes it much more likely you’ll find the right support, and feel the benefits.
