What to Expect During Your First Therapy Session
You’ve decided to go to therapy, and you’ve done the work to find the right therapist for you - what a milestone! As you put your first therapy session on your calendar, you may be wondering what’s coming next. What can you expect your first therapy session to look like?
As your first therapy session draws near, you may have a picture in your mind of what the experience will look and feel like. If you’ve never been to therapy before, your mental picture of what you’ll experience may be constructed of television portrayals and media depictions. At best, you may have a few second-hand experiences helping shape your expectations.
What is Therapy? First, Here’s What Therapy Is Not
Before we talk about what to expect and what therapy truly is like, let’s look at what therapy isn’t.
No, you don’t have to lay down on a couch.
Your session with your therapist may very well feel like a simple conversation over coffee with a new acquaintance. No couches, no laying supine - just two people sitting across from each other engaging in conversation.
It’s not just about feelings.
Therapy is about uncovering what has brought you to where you are and what you can change to get where you want to be.
It’s not about the past, but about the present.
It’s not about prying open past experiences or reliving past trauma. It’s about finding balance in the here and now - what you choose to discuss with your therapist is entirely up to you. You control the topic of conversation at all times.
It’s not about becoming someone new.
It’s about uncovering coping and thriving mechanisms you already have within you to help you achieve your goals.
It isn’t therapist-led, it’s collaborative.
For example, here at Rock Creek Counseling we take a person-centered approach focused on holistic wellbeing. We listen deeply to your goals and provide information and resources to help you in your choices.
What Can I Expect During My First Therapy Session?
Before we explore what to expect during your first therapy session, take a moment to dwell in the accomplishment of choosing therapy, and know you should feel proud. You’ve taken a large step forward in your journey of finding balance and wellbeing.
Know it’s normal, as well as healthy, if you feel any trepidation as you begin to prepare mentally and emotionally for your first therapy session. This is new territory, so give yourself ample amounts of grace!
Now, let’s explore what to expect through your first therapy session!
First, a Phone Consultation
We’ll start with a brief free phone consultation to make sure that our practice is a good fit to meet your needs. We’ll find a time for your “meet and greet” session to be sure you and your therapist are a good personality fit, and talk about moving forward with ongoing therapy.
The Rock Creek Approach
Therapy is a process that uses a person’s thoughts, behaviors, and insights to create change. There are many modalities and techniques to support you on this journey. Here we care most about what works best for you.
Our innovative approach is collaborative, conversational, and individualized for you. This is why we encourage you to be an active participant in your sessions and have a say in what’s working and what’s not, every step of the way.
Before Your Session
Prior to your first session, check in with yourself. What are your goals for today’s session? What do you want/need to walk away feeling in order to call the session a success?
During Your Session
Your session will begin with introductions and discussing your goals for therapy. Feel free to share any of your feelings, thoughts and emotions from your simple check-in earlier!
Our goal is to understand your needs and expectations - the session is purely conversational, you are free to share your thoughts and feelings in safety and comfort.
Following Your Session
Following your session, do another self check-in. If you’d like, you can get a journal just for your therapy journey. If you’re not a journaler, you can meditate on your experience! Here are 13 great journaling and meditation prompts to help you prepare for and process therapy sessions.