What to Expect in your First Session
So you’ve met me, loved me, thought I was the bomb and booked that first appointment! … Now what? Personally, I don’t think there’s a way for me to make that first meeting as peaceful as a night in watching Schitt’s Creek (RIP Catherine O’Hara <3), but as a trauma informed therapist, I pride myself on dissolving that stress as soon as possible!
THE BEFORE
Before we even get started, you’re going to get set up with a client portal on Simple Practice that houses everything you’ll ever need for therapy, including some forms. These are super important for our work together: it’s your consent forms, practice policies, and overall wellness assessment questions. In these assessments, I don’t expect you to share things you’re not comfortable putting on paper or discussing yet; we can get to it when you’re ready!
All of our sessions are virtual unless we’ve discussed otherwise. You’re going to get two reminders via email and text about your appointment which will include a link to the meeting, if you don’t get it, text me and I’ll send it to you manually! Get comfy, grab a beverage, find a private space with good lighting, and let’s get into it!
THE DURING
I want you to truly embrace the first session as a very nosey interview conducted by a melanated, slightly more sarcastic, Drew Barrymore. Once I let you into the room, I’ll go over all of the paperwork to make sure we’re both clear on expectations moving forward. Once that’s out of the way, I start ALL of my intro sessions with “how was your day?” Simplistic I know, but trust me I have a funny way of turning that into a conversation about your parents within 15 minutes flat! The first session is truly no pressure, we won’t be diving deep into anything heavy for the first few conversations. I’m truly using this time to get to know YOU, not necessarily the problem itself. I’ll be asking guiding questions, so no worries about knowing “the right things to say”, you just respond how you need to and I will be listening for important info to flag for later. As we chat, I encourage all forms of expression: humor, cussing, crying, raging; ALL feelings are welcome here! At some point I’ll lead a convo about what you’re looking to achieve in therapy, AKA your goals! If you don’t know, that’s fine we’ll discover those together! Your job is to come as you are, my job is to make you feel safe enough to share authentically and vulnerably!
THE AFTER
I like to debrief at the end of the first session and see how it went for you: What you liked…what you have concerns about…any feedback on questions I asked you! We’ll most likely find a time for us to meet next, lock that in, and I’ll set you free to treat yourself for getting through your very first therapy session with me!
See you soon :)
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