Your first therapy session – what to expect
Deciding on therapy is often harder than the session itself. What the first session looks like, what you can ask, and how to prepare.
Many people tell me the hardest part was booking the first appointment. Questions come up: is my problem “serious enough”, what should I say, will I have to tell everything straight away? I would like to take some of the mystery out of that moment and describe what a first session with me looks like.
No reason is “too small”
You do not need to be in crisis to see a psychotherapist. You can come because something has been bothering you for a while: you run out of patience more often, a relationship has started to go wrong, work has stopped being satisfying, or you simply want to understand yourself better. If something matters to you, that is a good reason to talk.
What the first meeting looks like
The first session is above all a conversation and a chance to get to know each other. I will ask what brings you to me, how long the difficulty has been going on, how it affects your everyday life and what you expect from therapy. I will also ask a little about your situation: work, relationships, health, the things that give you strength. There are no wrong answers here, and you decide what you want to talk about and at what pace.
In cognitive behavioural therapy the first meetings are also for agreeing together what we want to work on. We put goals in concrete terms – for example “I want to be able to say ‘no’ at work without days of guilt” – because that makes it easier to see later what is changing.
I will also tell you how I work: how often we meet, how long a session lasts, what the tasks between sessions are for, and how confidentiality works. At the end we will consider together whether this kind of help is right for you. If I think another kind of support would serve you better, I will tell you so.
How to prepare
You do not need to prepare in any special way, but if you like to have a plan, you can think about a few questions before we meet:
- what made you look for help now?
- in which situations does the difficulty show itself most?
- what are you already trying, and how is it going?
- how will you know that therapy is helping you?
You can write down your answers and bring them along. You can also come with a blank page – that is fine too.
You have the right to ask
The first session is also time for your questions. You can ask about my training and certification, about how cognitive behavioural therapy works, how long it may take, and what to do if something in our work together does not suit you. A good therapeutic relationship rests on trust, and trust is built through clear answers too.
What matters most is that after the first meeting you feel you can speak openly here. If that feeling does not come, that is important information too.
If you are wondering whether therapy is for you, start with a free 30-minute consultation. It is a calm chance to get to know each other and see whether you want to work together.