What to Talk About in Therapy When You Have ‘Nothing’ to Talk About
/Not sure what to talk about in therapy? Feeling stuck is more common, and more productive, than you might think. Here’s what to say when you feel like you have “nothing.”
Spoiler: This is where it gets interesting.
So you sit down in therapy, and your mind goes blank.
“Nothing big happened this week.”
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Honestly? I’m good.”
And suddenly the silence stretches. You’re trying to be polite. Your therapist sits there with their very accepting face.
But here’s the secret:
This moment?
This is the work.
Feeling like you have “nothing to talk about” doesn’t mean therapy is pointless—it often means you’re standing right at the edge of something real. That edge might feel like boredom, avoidance, guilt, calm, or even resistance. All of it is information. And all of it is worth exploring.
If you ever find yourself in this moment, here are some ways to get curious instead of shutting down:
1. Start with: “I don’t know what to talk about”
Say it out loud: “I don’t know what to say today.” Seriously—it’s not a throwaway. Sharing whatever is on your mind, even if it feels unimportant or unpolished, is a low-stakes way to practice bringing your inner world into the room without over-editing. That kind of honesty, however small, often lays the groundwork for deep and trusting therapeutic relationships.
2. Recall moments that stuck with you
Not the “big events.” Think smaller. A weird dream you can’t shake. An offhand comment that got under your skin. A moment you felt unusually proud or unusually irritable. Something that made you tear up for no obvious reason. These flashes often carry emotional weight. They can be entry points into deeper themes, if you give them a little airtime. Don’t worry if they seem trivial. Let your therapist help with the meaning-making. That’s part of the process.
3. Say the thing you’ve been holding back
Take a beat and ask yourself:
What am I avoiding?
What do I want from this space that I haven’t said out loud?
Sometimes the thing that “doesn’t feel relevant” is actually sitting in the center of the room. It can feel like a hard pivot, but you’re allowed to say—at any point in any session—“This is a topic change, but I realized we’ve never talked about _____.” You don’t have to wait for the perfect segue. Go bold if you need to. Sure, your therapist might want to reflect on what prompted the shift (those leaps are often meaningful), but just because something hasn’t come up organically doesn’t mean it doesn’t belong.
4. Talk about your therapist (yes, really)
The relationship between you and your therapist isn’t just a backdrop—it’s part of the process. How you experience your therapist (and how you imagine they experience you) can reflect old dynamics from other relationships. Do you feel like you need to be “good” in therapy? Do you wonder what they think of you? Do you ever hold back? These aren’t distractions from the work—they are the work. Naming those feelings can give you insight into the roles you play in other parts of your life—and offer a chance to try something new in real time.
5. Make space for silence
Unstructured time in therapy can feel awkward at first. But learning to tolerate open space—to sit with yourself without filling it—is a quiet kind of emotional work. Sometimes the “nothing” is where something meaningful starts to come up.
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So next time you’re in the waiting room or waiting to get into the virtual room with a blank brain, remember there’s no such thing as nothing to talk about. “Nothing” is often something in disguise—it just hasn’t made it to language yet. If you’re ready to find a therapist to talk about “nothing” with, book a free consultation with one of our psychologists.