How to Reflect on Your Therapy Journey: Six-Month Check-In Questions

Half a Year of Healing: Reflections on Progress and Empowerment

It’s been a little over 6 months since I began working in private practice, and questions about self-reflection have emerged frequently—not just in conversations with clients, but in the deeper layers beneath those conversations. A recurring theme is: Is this still working for me?

Moving on is a cause for celebration. As a therapist, my goal isn’t to create dependence, but to empower clients to recognize their own strengths and wisdom. Once they can hear that wisdom, what comes next?

I have no idea, but I know these moments of reflection are essential. They help us assess our paths, whether that means continuing, adjusting, or celebrating closure.

And so, that is where these questions were born from—this ongoing reflection on progress, closure, and empowerment. These questions serve as a guide for clients to check in with themselves, reevaluate, and decide if they're still on the right path or if it’s time to adjust. They allow space for celebrating growth and, when necessary, letting go.

6-Month Therapy Reflection Questions

1. How do I relate to my emotions and mood today compared to how I did 6 months ago?

2. Has my way of thinking shifted in any way? If yes, how?

3. Have I noticed any changes in my behavior? (Are there things I do now that I wouldn’t have done 6 months ago, or things I refrain from doing that I would have engaged in back then?)

4. Have there been any meaningful shifts in how I relate to the people in my life?

5. What was the hardest thing I went through in the last 6 months, and how did I get through it?

6. What have I learned about myself in the last 6 months?

7. How did I surprise myself in the last 6 months?

8. What is my current favorite song?

9. What was my reason for beginning therapy?

10. Have my original goals for therapy been met?
    a. If yes:
    i. Would I like to move towards closure?
    ii. Would I like to develop new goals?
    b. If no:
    i. Would I like to continue working on these goals?
    ii. Would I like to move towards closure and seek alternative support?

11. Are there any tools for validation or self-inquiry that I would like to invite into our therapeutic space? (Options include Myers-Briggs Personality Test, Love Languages, Enneagram, Astrology, Human Design, 12-step process, spiritual/religious inquiry, or other?)

    Before answering question #12, I invite you to foster a sense of curiosity. While you may notice feelings of shame and vulnerability, try to focus on how these feelings are working for you. Engaging with them for a reason can provide valuable insights!

12. What is my current relationship with self-soothing? (Consider: cannabis, alcohol, caffeine, shopping, eating, sleeping, staying busy, sex, exercise, writing/journaling, reading, TV/movies, video games, scrolling social media, talking with friends, self-harm, cleaning/organizing, pets, daydreaming/fantasizing, special interests, stimming, listening to music, playing music, art, dancing, or other?)

13. Who is one person (past or present, living or dead, real or fictional) that I look up to? Why?

14. What are my hopes or goals for the next 6 months?

15. What would today’s version of me tell myself 6 months ago?

16. What would the version of me 6 months from now want me to know?

17. Is there anything else I’d like my therapist to know? 

 Bonus Activity: A Connection Check-In with Loved Ones

Ask 1-3 trusted people in your life these questions:

• What are my best qualities?

• What is your favorite memory of me?

• What do you wish I knew?

• Is there anything about what I’m going through that concerns you?

Why did you choose those people? This reflection can deepen your relationships, offer external validation, and uncover meaningful insights for your emotional well-being.

Conclusion: Embrace the Power of Reflection

Whether you’ve been in therapy or are reflecting on your own, these questions are meant to help you reconnect with yourself. Life moves quickly, but the act of pausing to reflect on your mental health journey can lead to growth, clarity, and a renewed sense of purpose. So, take this check-in as an offering—to stop, look within, and honor the changes you’ve made and the ones still to come.