Problem: Article: Your task now is to establish a criteria for success. This will make it easy to track your progress and know when you have achieved your goal. Your criteria can be quantitative (numbers based) or descriptive (based on describing a certain outcome). When possible, put concrete numbers in your goals. This way you'll know without question if you're falling behind or if you're on track. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, you might make your goal quantitative by saying you want to lose 30 pounds. Knowing your existing weight, it will be easy to determine when you've met your goal. A descriptive version of this goal might be "I want to be able to put on a pair of jeans I wore five years ago." Either way, your goal is measurable. There are a number of questions you can ask yourself to make sure your goal is as measurable as possible. These include: How much? For example, "how much weight do I hope to lose?" How many? For example, "how many times a week do I want to go to the gym?" How will I know when I've accomplished the goal? Will it be when you step on a scale and see you've lost 30 pounds? Or 40? Having measurable goals makes it easy to determine if you are making headway. For example, if your goal is to lose 20 pounds, and you've lost 18, you know you're almost there. On the other hand, if a month has passed and you've only lost a pound, this might signal that it's time to change your strategy. Keep a journal. This is a great way to keep track of the efforts you've made, the results you've seen, and your feelings about the process. Aim to write in it for about 15 minutes a day. This can help you keep things in perspective and can also release stress you might be feeling about your efforts.
Summary: Create a "yardstick" for measuring outcomes. Ask yourself questions to sharpen your focus. Track and measure your progress.

Problem: Article: Slowly, but firmly, squeeze the fruit from the lower end. Each tiny greenish sac will contain a cucumber-like seed, and they should come to the cut surface of the fruit easily with a little pressure. Like a pomegranate, the seeds are perfectly edible, but are somewhat bland. What you're after is the sweet green flesh around the seed. You can take one at a time into your mouth and separate the seed before spitting it out, or take a whole mouthful and chew it up. If you don't like the seeds, try pinching the sac of fruit gently with your front teeth. Suck the sac of fruit through your top and bottom teeth, pinching enough to hold the seed on the outside of your teeth, yet still allowing the fruit to pass through. You can also scoop out the seeds into a bowl and eat them with a spoon if you prefer. Its easier to break the little green kernels that way, but can be somewhat easier if you don't want to bury your face in the fruit.
Summary: Hold one half of the fruit up to your mouth. Eat them. Consider scooping out the fruit.

Problem: Article: Knowing what sort of coverage your insurance plan offers for psychotherapy or how you plan to pay for therapy is very important. Check your description of plan benefits for information on behavioral health services or coverage for mental health. When in doubt, ask the human resources representative of your insurance company directly. And, ask the therapist if they accept your insurance before making your first appointment. Otherwise you may have to pay out of pocket when you could be seeing a therapist in your insurer's network. When you meet, remember to take care of payment, scheduling, and insurance questions at the start of the session. This way you will be able to end the session sharing, without the disturbance of logistical issues like calendar checking and payment. Know that if you see a therapist in a private practice, they may provide you with a receipt that you will submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. You might be responsible for the entire cost of the visit up front, and then be reimbursed through your insurance company. Therapists come from many different backgrounds, and have different forms of education, specialization, certification, and licensing. "Psychotherapist" is a general term, rather than a specific job title or indication of education, training or licensure. The following are red flags, indicating that the therapist may not be properly qualified: No information provided about your rights as a client, confidentiality, office policies, and fees (all of which would allow you to fairly consent to your therapy) No license issued by the state or jurisdiction in which they practice. A degree from a non-accredited institution. Unresolved complaints filed with their licensing board. The more information your therapist has about you, the better they will be able to do their job. Helpful documents might include reports from previous psychological tests or recent hospital discharge summaries. If you are a student, you may also want to bring recent grades or other recent markers of progress. This will be helpful during your intake interview, when the therapist may ask you to fill out forms about your current and past physical and emotional health. By streamlining this part of your visit, you and your therapist will have more opportunity to get to know each other on a person-to-person level. If you are already taking any medications for mental or physical health, or if you have recently stopped a medication, you will want to come prepared with the following information: Name of the drug(s) Your dosage Side effects you are experiencing Contact information of the providing doctor(s) When meeting for the first time, you may have lots of different questions and concerns. In order to address everything you want to know, write some notes reminding you to gather all the information you need. Bringing these to your first session will help you feel less confused and more at ease. Notes might include the following questions for your therapist: What therapeutic approach do you use? How will we define our goals? Will you expect me to complete assignments to do between sessions? How frequently will we meet? Will our work together be short-term or long-term? Are you willing to collaborate with my other health care providers to treat me more effectively? Because therapy is meant to provide you with a safe space to work on yourself, time must be managed wisely. Once you are in the session it's the therapist's job to keep track of time, allowing you to focus on answering questions and adjusting to the feel of therapy. But, it's up to you to get yourself to that point. Be aware that some private therapists charge for missed appointments, and these fees are not covered by insurance.
Summary:
Understand the financial arrangement. Check the therapist's qualifications. Prepare any relevant documents. Gather a list of medications you are taking or have taken recently. Write reminder notes. Keep track of your appointment schedule.