You may be wondering what to expect during your first session. Whether this is your first time to see a therapist, or you’ve been in therapy before, it takes a lot of courage to form a new relationship with a complete stranger. To help alleviate your fears, I’ll explain what your first session will look like.

During your free initial phone consultation, you and I will discuss what is bringing you to therapy and what you would like to get out of therapy. At the end of our consultation, we will determine if we are a good match to work together. If we are not the right match, I will offer some recommendations or referrals to other resources to help you get what you need. I want you to get the best return on your investment and will help you determine whether or not that is to establish a therapeutic relationship with me or another person. Should we determine that we are a good fit to work together, we will schedule an initial consultation visit. You will be asked to complete paperwork in advance of your session. I will review your paperwork prior to our first meeting to gain a better understanding of how I can help.

During our first session, you and I will discuss all background information relevant to our work together. We will determine your goals for therapy and collaboratively develop a treatment plan that best meets your needs. During this session, we will also determine how frequently we should meet in order to meet your goals. Typically, clients need weekly sessions in the beginning of treatment; sessions often require less frequency over time, depending on your goals and the rate at which you would like to achieve them. Some concerns may be resolved with brief therapy (8 – 12 sessions or less), while other issues take longer to resolve (ranging from several months to several years, depending on the depth of the issues you want to address). We will check in regularly about your progress and our therapeutic relationship to ensure you are getting what you need out of our time together. If at any time your needs are not being met, we will discuss other available options.