Therapy is a powerful aid for all walks of life, regardless of age. With a lot of focus on helping our youth navigate the stresses of growing up, a lot of content online is dedicated to inspiring them to feel more confident in their therapy sessions.
The thing is, we adults need therapy as well. I myself didn’t go to my first therapy session until I was 28. I would consider myself a “kid” at that time, talking with my therapist about a lot of stuff that doesn’t come up in my therapy sessions now at 38.
Use these therapy topics for adults as a loose guideline for your next therapy session. I say loosely because there is no wrong topic to discuss with your therapist, so if something has been on your brain for a while, please do lead with that.
Dealing with long-term struggles
The feelings of anxiety and stress will be a part of all our lives until we pass. You probably associate what induces these feelings to be different from what a teenager may have going on in their day.
Starting a family
Longterm relationship breakup
Long distance relationship
Being fired from your job
Getting a pay cut
Affording to live in a recession
Coming out to family
Being in a polyamorous relationship
With the world realizing more that mental health struggles are more common than we once thought, there has been a positive growth of acceptance of a single person’s struggles. But saying that, it hasn’t made it easier for those single individuals (you and I) to admit we are verbally struggling with those around us.
Telling those you love
Telling your work
Coping skills
New skills to overcome depression
You might not be dealing with high school crushes anymore, but that doesn’t mean that a broken heart and loneliness don’t hurt as much as they did in your teens. There are a lot of different situations that you could be in, from a growing family to ever single and afraid you may never find the right one.
Forever single
A long-term relationship that you don’t know how to end
An unhealthy relationship
Unhappiness in a marriage
Open relationship without trust
Uncertain about where you are or where you are going to end up
No matter how much advice your family and friends give you, no guidebook will prepare you for parenting. There is a wide range of emotions that you will go through at this time, and non of them are wrong.
Uncertainty
Fearful of failing
Parent-child relationship
Feeling supported
Jealousy
There are those of us who marry in our twenties, and there are those of us who find ourselves traveling the world solo at 40. Your story may not be precisely that, but the feeling of not going down the path that society has put around us as we get older can feel right, but also lonely at times.
Past relationships
Types of relationships you engage in
One night stands
Desire to be single or partnered
Polyamory
Monogamy
You are grown-up, and the world is opening up its narrow views on what is right and wrong when it comes to drugs that were once deemed illegal. There are many safe ways to have a relationship with both drugs and alcohol, while at the same time, there is a point in life where sobriety is an option that can feel right. Do you feel happy with your interaction with drugs and alcohol?
Are you in control, or are they
Do you use drugs or alcohol the same as you did as a teen
Do you need drugs or alcohol to engage with others
Do you need drugs or alcohol to relax
Do you abuse the use of drugs and alcohol
As we get older, there are things in our life that we come to submit to. Giving into something that once was bugging us years ago and not addressing the issues, and now it has become of our daily life. And we accept it, not even contemplating that it can be addressed if we start to overcome it.
Body aches and pains
Self-confidence
Fear of failing
Low sex drive
Unlike your parents, the stability of a lifelong job that treats you well is most likely not an option for you or the majority of the population anymore. We all bounce around from job to job every few years. This can be a great stress, but it also can be a powerful opportunity to find your true path to happiness and professional windfall.
Entrepreneurship
Asking for a raise
Leaving a job for another
Finding a path to more income
Starting a side hustle with confidence
No matter your age, what era you live in, or your situation at this exact moment of reading this. Life is hard!
You do not have to face it alone. The best thing you can invest in is a weekly or bi-weekly therapy session to voice your thoughts whirring inside your head.
Therapy does help, and you will personally grow as the therapy sessions rack up over time.
You can discuss anything you want in therapy. There are no topics off-limits. Your therapist is there to help you, not judge you.
You most likely have many things to talk about in therapy in your head right now; however, when you are not used to speaking about them to another person, it can be hard to know where to start.
The best way to discuss difficult topics in therapy is to treat them like a bandaid and let it out immediately. Tell your therapist a few words or a broad idea of the topic; then, they will work with you on bringing out the rest.