What can I expect in the first session?

Your first counselling session is important, and is somewhat different from all that follow. The first session with any counsellor should serve a number of purposes. With me, the first thing we will work to ensure is that you are comfortable, not only with me as a therapist, but also with the overall surroundings and situation. During the roughly 60 minutes that we will spend together, you will be given an opportunity to tell me a little about what is troubling you. If I am seeing you together with your spouse or partner, then I will work to ensure that you each have equal opportunity to talk, as well as present your own thoughts on what is happening.

During that conversation, you are very much in charge of the topics we speak about, as well as the depth to which we speak about them. While I might ask a question here or there if you say something that I don’t quite understand, I will not be interviewing you or asking you to delve more deeply into any given topic than you wish to go. Towards the end of that first hour, I should be able to give an initial opinion on what I feel is going on in your situation as well as what I believe we may be able to achieve should you continue with counselling. In addition, I should also be able to give you an indication of how long things might take, and what you can (and cannot) expect from the process. In this way, we will work together to decide the aims and goals that you wish to achieve, and a plan to achieve them. The final few minutes of our first session will be spent discussing various administrative issues that might exist, such as: time and day of sessions, Cost and cancellation policies, any special needs you might have, or any other considerations that might become evident during the session.