A Therapy Session
At the Therapist’s
 What do people talk about in therapy?
 Do you think therapy can help? Why/why not?
 How do you think it might help?
 What things might people want to change about their
lives or personalities?
Natalia’s Trip to the Therapist’s
I suppose my life is fine in general. I would only change a few things: I
sometimes wish I was more sociable, I can be very shy in social situations.
I was in a theatre group when I was a kid, if only I had continued doing
theatre, maybe I would be more confident now.
If only I didn’t have to work so much, then I could go back to university
and study something else. I wish I hadn’t studied marketing, my job is so
dull!
I guess my relationship with my boyfriend is ok. Occasionally I wish that
he would listen to me a bit more, sometimes it’s like talking to a brick
wall. I wish he wouldn’t spend so much time with his mates from football,
they’re a bad influence.
Natalia
 What problems does Natalia have?
 What does she want to change about…
 Her personality?
 Her career?
 Her love life?
 What do you think of Natalia’ situation? What do
you think she should do?
Natalia’s Trip to the Therapist’s
I suppose my life is fine in general. I would only change a few things: I sometimes
wish I was more sociable, I can be very shy in social situations. I was in a theatre
group when I was a kid, if only I had continued doing theatre, maybe I would be
more confident now.
If only I didn’t have to work so much, then I could go back to university and study
something else. I wish I hadn’t studied marketing, my job is so dull!
I guess my relationship with my boyfriend is ok. Occasionally I wish that he would
listen to me a bit more, sometimes it’s like talking to a brick wall. I wish he
wouldn’t spend so much time with his mates from football, they’re a bad
influence.
Look at the underlines sentences, do they refer to:
a) A wish about the present
b) A wish about the past
c) A wish about another person’s bad habits
Language Analysis
Look at the examples from the text, how do we construct
the sentences?
Present wishes:
 I sometimes wish I was more sociable.
 If only I didn’t have to work so much.
Past wishes:
 If only I had continued doing theatre.
 I wish I hadn’t studied marketing.
Wishes about other people’s bad habits:
 I wish that he would listen to me a bit more
 I wish he wouldn’t spend so much time with his mates
from football
Language Analysis
Look at the examples from the text, how do we construct
the sentences?
Present wishes:
 I sometimes wish I was more sociable. I wish/if only + past
simple
 If only I didn’t have to work so much.
Past wishes:
 If only I had continued doing theatre.
 I wish I hadn’t studied marketing.
Wishes about other people’s bad habits:
 I wish that he would listen to me a bit more
 I wish he wouldn’t spend so much time with his mates
from football
Language Analysis
Look at the examples from the text, how do we construct
the sentences?
Present wishes:
 I sometimes wish I was more sociable. I wish/if only + past
simple
 If only I didn’t have to work so much.
Past wishes:
I wish/if only + past
 If only I had continued doing theatre. perfect (had + past
 I wish I hadn’t studied marketing.
participle)
Wishes about other people’s bad habits:
 I wish that he would listen to me a bit more
 I wish he wouldn’t spend so much time with his mates
from football
Language Analysis
Look at the examples from the text, how do we construct
the sentences?
Present wishes:
 I sometimes wish I was more sociable. I wish/if only +
past simple
 If only I didn’t have to work so much.
Past wishes:
I wish/if only + past
 If only I had continued doing theatre. perfect (had/hadn’t +
 I wish I hadn’t studied marketing.
past participle)
Wishes about other people’s bad habits:
 I wish that he would listen to me a bit more
 I wish he wouldn’t spend so much time with his mates
from football
I wish/if only + would/wouldn’t
+ verb in present
Practice
Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
I wish I __________(be) rich.
If only I __________ (have) green eyes.
I wish I __________ (study) more for the exam
yesterday.
If only my brother __________ (annoy) me so much.
I wish I ___________ (look like) Ariana Grande.
If only my teacher ____________ (give) me so much
homework.
I wish I ____________ (not eat) so much last night.
I wish I ____________ (can) turn invisible.
Free Production
Write a short dialogue between a therapist and a very
unhappy patient. The patient should express their
wishes and the therapist should give advice.