Often times a perspective new client will call and tell me that they have no idea how the mental health counseling / therapy process goes and they admit to being nervous about beginning therapy. I am happy to chat for a minute or two and explain the process. People seek me out for different reasons. Some people are struggling with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, trauma, mental illness or something else. Some people are struggling in their relationships and are seeking couple’s counseling. Some couples come in for premarital counseling, which I love to do! Some may be seeking help with their adolescent or another family member. I offer support for struggling families in the face of dementia, mental illness or conflict. I have been providing counseling for 26 years and have worked with a large variety of situations and issues. I welcome all people without judgement. My work with you is always accepting and confidential. However, I let you know what I see and think because one of the ways therapy works is for you to be able to see what others see but you don’t and then to make changes.
Coming In For the Initial Mental Health Counseling Session
Once you take the first step and reach out by email, phone, or text to either myself or my fabulous office manager, Allyson, you should be proud of yourself. I am aware this is a huge step for you to take, reaching out for mental health counseling. It can be scary, opening yourself up and not understanding the process.
Once you reach out and get onto my schedule, there is a short amount of paperwork to complete before the session. This is done by email. Some therapists ask for a lot of information and history about you on the paperwork. This isn’t the case with me because I don’t usually look at it before the initial session. Paperwork for me is minimal and basic identifying information.
When you come for your initial session, arrive a few minutes early and have a seat in my waiting room. There is coffee, tea, and water for you to enjoy. We usually have spa music playing to help you relax. At the time of your session I will come out and greet you. I mostly (99% of the time) run on time. I am not a fan of having to wait long times in Doctor’s offices so I try my very hardest to make sure that doesn’t happen to you in my office.
Once in my office I hope you will be comfortable. A lot of people tell me it is peaceful and comfortable in there. I hope you feel that too. If you are anxious or nervous (which a lot of new people are) we may work on calming your nerves down first. Once you are comfortable, I will tell you my spiel, which consists of my background information and what you can expect during the counseling process. My sessions last 50 minutes. I don’t take a break all day so I need those 10 minutes between sessions.
The first session is an intake session, an information gathering session. It is structured so you don’t have to worry about what to say because I will guide you with my questions. If you are a couple I will ask each of you the same set of questions. If you are a parent, with an adolescent, I will keep you in the office for the beginning of the session and then see your teen alone. When I see adolescents I always try to keep the parent involved during the counseling process. At the end of the first session we will talk about moving forward. I will explain what I heard and give you some feedback. If you want to continue to move forward we will schedule another session and our work together begins!
I understand the fear of beginning this process but once you reach out you have taken the first step towards healing and growing! All the following sessions with me are more loosey-goosey. We talk and work together. I have the psychological knowledge and you have the knowledge on yourself and your life. We will move forward together!
