What to Expect When Starting Therapy
I’ve sat in a therapy room for many years and it has become my normal, my comfort zone. However, this may be a brand new experience for you. Starting anything new can bring out both excitement and anxiety. After all, it’s a rather strange idea to meet with a complete stranger, spill your guts out and share things that you might not have told anyone.
I have tremendous amount of respect for every person who chooses to sit across from me to work through and make sense of their inner and outer worlds.
I can’t speak for every therapist out there, as there are many philosophies and approaches. However, if you’re choosing to start therapy with me, I can give you some insight to what you might expect throughout the process.
Step 1: Reaching Out
Therapy is one of the greatest gives you can give yourself, so if you haven’t already, START NOW!
There are three ways you can contact with me:
Call or text at 919-636-0765
Email at hello@therapywithbrooklyn.com
The next step is to connect for me to understand what you’re looking for, share a little about myself and for us to decide if we will be a good fit for one another. We will discuss logistics like fees, getting scheduled, and directions to the office. I will then send you practice policy forms to complete online from a site called Simple Practice, which is my electronic health record. All that’s left to do is to show up to your appointment!
Step 2: The First Session
I strive to offer a safe and comforting space for you to retreat during your sessions. Once you enter the office, you can fix yourself a cup of coffee, tea or water.
The first session is a continuation of our phone call. We will discuss the policy forms completed and go over confidentiality. We will then discuss more at length what is bringing you in and how it’s impacting your life. The first session is more of a question/answer format in effort to build a foundation, therefore we won’t deep dive into anything just yet. Future sessions are more conversational in nature. We will work together to establish treatment goals in order to track our progress. At the end we can go over any initial questions or concerns and schedule the next session.
Step 3: The Therapy Process
We get to work. There is no time frame of when you will feel better or see results. Therapy is a process that looks different for every person. It will be messy at times and uneventful at others. You will not have an “aha” moment every session. Some sessions will be emotionally triggering and difficult and some will be light and reflective. I will hold compassion and warmth for you, but I will also challenge you. I will not offer advice, because I don’t know what it is like to walk a day in your shoes. I will, however, offer support, nuance and talk through options that align with your values and beliefs. I offer homework that is realistic and reasonable for you to complete in between our sessions. You may only spend one hour with me a week, so it’s important that what we talk about inside the therapy room is practiced outside as well. My ultimate goal is for you to manage your thoughts and emotions, become less reactive and to reconnect with yourself and those you love.
Step 4: Termination
Yes! We want to establish a plan to end therapy. Termination is part of the therapy process. Perhaps you’ve reached your goals, will be moving, finances or availability has changed, you want to take a break for a while, or maybe you want a different perspective. It’s important to give time to the ending of a relationship and to reflect on what you’ve experienced throughout the process.
I hope this helps you feel a little more at ease and less intimidated by the process. It’s my goal to offer a space that provides you with comfort and safety to process your suffering. Self-discovery and reflection can be powerful tools for healing. Let’s walk that journey together.
Charleston Therapist