What Can I Expect From Counseling Sessions?

Initial Session aka Assessment/Evaluation

The primary focus of our first session is to gain a holistic view of you and assess your concerns. This involves asking many, many, many questions. I will gather information about your problems, your history from birth to the present, and your goals for counseling. I will also provide you with information on counseling policies, the therapeutic interventions I use most (EMDR and CBT), determine the frequency of sessions (weekly, every other week, monthly), and answer any questions you may have. Seems like a lot and it is. The first session can sometimes be overwhelming since we discuss so many different aspects of your life but we don’t have the time to process them.  Don’t worry, we will have time to process during your regular sessions. 

Another important aspect of the evaluation is to determine if I’m the right therapist for you. Every therapist has a different area of expertise, style, and personality. The initial evaluation allows us to determine if I am the best therapist for you to meet your goals. If you do not feel that I am the best fit for you, please let me know, it will not hurt my feelings. Sometimes people go to therapy and feel like they need to stay with a therapist even if they don’t feel like they’re connecting with them. I do not want this for you. I want you to get the appropriate help that you need and if it’s not with me, then I will help refer you to another therapist. Please also be aware that I may feel that I am not the right fit for you. After the evaluation, I may assess that my skills do not fit your needs and again, I will refer you to another therapist that better fits your needs. I don’t want to waste your time, I want you to get the help that you need!  Please also understand that if we decide not to move forward with counseling together you will still be responsible for payment. The only way to determine if we are a good fit is to complete the initial evaluation.

What Are Therapy Sessions Like? 

In our second session and beyond, we will have our regular counseling sessions for approximately 50 minutes. Sessions look very different for each individual as each person has a unique background and focus areas. This is your time to be open, and honest and not feel judged or criticized for your thoughts or feelings. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “I can’t believe I’m thinking this…”. You are not alone, we all have many thoughts and feelings that we do not share for a variety of different reasons. Counseling is your time to share these thoughts and feelings and know that anything you say will be held with the highest degree of confidentiality. The only times I am mandated by law to break confidentiality is if you are actively going to hurt yourself or someone else. I want you to be safe and that is my top priority for you. 

If you want to make a list of topics to discuss for our session, please feel free to! I will do my best to address as many topics as we can during our time together. If you are unsure about what to discuss, then that’s okay too, I have no problem leading our session. My role in your counseling session is to provide you with therapeutic interventions, support, feedback, and education. Please if there is something you want from therapy, please, please, please let me know.  This is your time to focus on yourself and I want you to get what you need from our sessions.

But what if I want our sessions to last longer than 50 minutes?

I understand that your counseling session may be the only time for you to feel safe, open, and honest - this is exactly my goal for you. However; I typically have sessions scheduled back to back and to keep on time and respect others’ time, I will need to end our sessions on time. I will keep track of our session time and let you know how much time we have left. It is always best to discuss your priority concerns at the beginning of our session so it gives us enough time to address them. Please remember that we will meet again and that your concerns will not go unaddressed. 

How Long Will I Be In Counseling?

There is no one answer to how long you will be in counseling. Again, each person is different. Sometimes individuals come to counseling a handful of times, get what they need, and stop therapy. Sometimes individuals spend years in counseling. The ultimate goal of therapy is to not need therapy anymore and this is what I want for you! This may sound scary at first but counseling is not meant to be lifelong, the goal is for you to build the skills you need to live a happy, healthy life.