By Heather Restall, CaFI Lead Therapist

Deciding to go to therapy can feel like a big commitment. You are investing in yourself and your family, so you are going to want to get it right. Here are some tips and ideas to ensure you get the most out of therapy.

Discuss any concerns

It’s common to feel worried or unsure about what to expect from therapy. It’s important to bring up any concerns or worries with your therapist as early as possible. They should answer you openly and honestly. If you have any questions about your therapy, please just ask!

Set a plan for each session

At the beginning of each CaFI session, you, your family member, and your therapist will set a plan of what you all want to cover in the session. This is to ensure that you are getting the most from each session.

The first couple of sessions will usually be spent doing what’s called an assessment. This is a clinical term that basically means getting a good overview of what has brought you to therapy. It involves discussing past experiences, family relationships, current problems and symptoms, as well as looking at your goals for the future.

You will all work together to help gain a better understanding about what might be maintaining any current difficulties and decide how to make positive changes.

Following the assessment, CaFI therapy may involve working on the following:

• shared learning and understanding psychosis/ schizophrenia;
• communication skills;
• problem-solving and stress management skills;
• planning for the future including relapse prevention.

It’s important to remember that you don’t have to talk about anything you’re not ready to talk about or do anything you don’t want to do.

Prepare for your session

Before each therapy session, it’s a good idea to think about what has happened for you that week. Is there anything specific you would like to discuss or work through? It may be helpful to speak with your family member before the session to see what they want to get from the session too.

Be kind to yourself

It can take time to build trust and feel comfortable with a therapist. Try to be kind to yourself if you are finding therapy difficult.

If you’re finding it hard to feel comfortable, it may be helpful to talk to your therapist about how you’re feeling. This may feel a little daunting at first, but these are common things therapists are used to working through with people.

Take notes

So much can happen in a one-hour therapy session, it can be difficult to fully process what you’ve discussed and what that means for you. Taking notes during the session can be a useful way of helping you to remember what has been discussed and what action points you have agreed on.

Outside the sessions

CaFI therapy may involve activities for you to do outside of your sessions with a therapist. This might include filling in worksheets or practicing a skill you have learnt in a session.

I would recommend that you have some time for reflection after each session, to help focus on what you have learnt in therapy and anything that you need to focus on or put into practice in the coming week. Having this time to reflect can be spent either on your own or with a family member. You may also wish to continue this after the therapy has ended.

For more information, please visit the Culturally-adapted Family Intervention (CaFI) website.

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