Preparing for therapy and your first session can be a bit nerve-racking. Firstly, congratulations! Scheduling a therapy session can be a challenging yet momentous first step in your path to mental wellness.
Here is a breakdown of how your first session might work, as well as helpful tips to put your mind at ease and make you feel prepared for this important meeting you are taking.
The first therapy session is called an intake, where your therapist begins to get a sense of what brings you in. What issues are troubling you? What are your goals that you’d like to focus on during therapy? What is your background? These questions help asses the context of your life and what support you might need. The therapist will also assess suicidality, self-harm, and substance use.
Why are you seeking therapy?
The most important way you can prepare for this first session is to have an idea of what brings you in and what you would like to work on. Don’t be concerned if you only have a vague idea! You and your therapist can explore this together.
How do you feel about the therapist?
When going into your first session, it’s very important to know that the relationship between therapist and client is an incredibly important factor in receiving positive outcomes from therapy. When you are in this first session, be mindful of how you feel about your therapist. Not every therapist is going to be the right fit, and it is okay to ‘shop around’ until you find someone you feel very comfortable with.
Ask questions as you’re preparing for therapy!
Be sure to write down any questions you have for your therapist before the session. Maybe you want to get a sense of how they work with clients. You can ask them how their sessions typically go. Do they tend to have more structured or open sessions? The answers to your questions will hopefully provide reassurance that they are the right fit for your needs. Don’t be afraid to follow your gut with who might work best for you.
Starting therapy is an incredibly important step towards mental health and you should be very proud of getting to this point!
