What to expect in your first therapy session

You're thinking about starting therapy but have no idea what to expect...that can be intimidating right?

First of all let’s take a second to recognize you for taking that first step in prioritizing yourself and reaching for support. That is a HUGE deal and deserves to be celebrated.

When starting therapy with me, we will chat on the phone for 10-15 minutes to discuss how you’ve been feeling and what experiences you feel you want to process in therapy. From there we will talk insurance or come to an agreement on private pay costs, then talk schedules. I will verify your insurance and do my best to inform you of your estimated co-pay or deductible per session. If your insurance provider is out of network with me we can discuss my private pay fees. If we decide our schedules don’t align or I can’t provide the treatment modality that best suites you I can provide some referrals to therapists who may be a better fit and that’s ok because it’s all a part of the process :)

Once we’ve established we want to work together, I will send all needed paperwork for you to complete prior to your first appointment so we can get that out of the way. I will have you fill out a brief questionnaire to gain more insight into what's been going on with you and what your goals are for therapy. There will be consents to electronically sign and a few other scales to complete- basically telling me how severe you feel your symptoms are. All good information for me to know as your new therapist.

I will text you the day of your appointment reminding you of my office address and let you know to wait in your car when you arrive and text me to check-in since my cute little office doesn’t have a waiting room lol! I will respond when I’m ready for you. When you come into my office I’ll go over my practice and privacy policies to make sure you’re good and informed on expectations- I’m all about the communication.

I like to quickly get the business stuff over so we can get to the good part! Talking about you. I like to let you lead the session. Are we keeping things light and discussing our dogs and what you like to do on the weekends? Or are you ready to open up the flood gates and dive in? Completely up to you! I never like to ask too many invasive questions until you feel comfortable which can take a few sessions.

Generally, I like to use the first session to learn about your background or presenting issues so we can come up with a ‘treatment plan’ and I say it that way because that feels formal to me, but I still like to stay on track with our sessions to make sure you feel you’re working on what you need to and I can help keep you on track as well. I like to talk goals in the first session- what are your life goals? Therapy goals? Tuesday goals? Let’s talk about it. What’s keeping you from meeting your goals and how can I help?

On the other side of things, if you are the parent of a client under the age of 18 I will have you join us for the first 15-20 minutes of the session so we can all talk together. If your child is under 18 it’s important for you to be aware of billing, consents and privacy policy since you’re the main caregiver and paying the bills! We will talk about your concerns for your child or if your child has anything they would like to voice while you’re in the room. As important as it is you’re there as the parent, it’s also important me and your child have time to start building our own rapport during that first session. I will have you go back out to your car for the remainder of the session.

I wanted to share this process with you because I know what it feels like to be anxious or intimidated on starting something new. When we have anxiety we like to know EVERY detail, and when I say we I mean WE. Some times just knowing more information can help you take that first leap. I hope this helps you leap :)