Therapy Introduction - Session #1
Lesson 1:
Congratulations! You're now ready to start the first session, and I know it wasn't an easy road to get here. I'm sure you have alot of different thoughts that were swirling around before you decided to see a therapist. Things such as, was it the right choice? Will I receive the help I need? What will the therapist think of me? What will my family think of me? Sure, the hesitation was there, but you chose to overcome those fears and take the opportunity to work on yourself.
So many thoughts flood your mind in that moment, yet you yearn for the help you need, realizing that you want to make changes in your life.
Perhaps you're also considering the nature of the dialogue you will have with the therapist and whether the therapist will accurately interpret the information you want to convey… or do you feel confident in your ability to communicate the information effectively? Those moments where, in your mind, you feel like you're rambling, and then you constantly overthink the nature of what you're saying as you're saying it in therapy. That's a lot to juggle, especially when you recognize that you need support and want to figure out how to receive it.
No worries; it's normal, but I want to help you overcome the barrier, so you can feel like you can express yourself effectively and become aware of what's happening in the session, and how you can start to improve from it.
In each session, there are ways you can feel prepared going in that maybe you didn't think about because of the emotions that you were carrying while you were going into the space, but these are three things you can do to feel more at ease.
a.) Write down one to three things that led you to seek therapy:
How long have you been experiencing this issue?
What has been the impact that it has had on your life?
Why is it necessary for you to make the change now?
How are you typically coping with this concern/negative or positive?
What skills would you like to develop in therapy to help you grow from this issue?
b.) Ask the therapist questions! You can do this… the therapist wants you to feel comfortable with them. Even if you feel it may be awkward, it doesn't have to be that way, because we're all human.
Questions to think about!
What made you invest in the field of therapy?
How can people be resilient in therapy? What does that success look like?
What's your approach to therapy? How did you realize that this was the best approach for you?
What are some things that you do outside of therapy?
c.) Bring your initial intake with you or review it before you see the therapist! In the first session, the therapist reviews the initial intake form that you completed before your arrival. If you don't have it, you can ask the therapist to review it while you're talking.
Remember, you should feel some sense of control over the situation, and knowing that you can prepare for each session will give you the ability and provide the clarity needed to work on yourself and reduce the anxiety that comes into this space.
