What Should You Expect from your First Therapy Session?
November 22, 2021
2.5 min read
Many people are nervous before their first therapy session.
Written by Simon Spichak
The decision to ask for help is scary, especially with the stigma surrounding mental health and therapy. Often, therapy conjures up the image of a patient laying down on a couch while a bespectacled, bald man with a German accent sits cross-legged scribbling on a notepad. You might expect to field questions about your feelings and your relationship with your parents. But this idea of therapy is an antiquated and fictional picture.
Therapy looks a lot different than what many people might imagine. Now, everything is online so there are no awkward waiting rooms. Psychotherapists often look more like their patients and less like a caricature of Sigmund Freud. And the first therapy session? It has more in common with a casual chat than an interrogation.
The First Session
After finding a therapist or a clinic, you will sign up for your first appointment. This is often a consultation, and at Resolvve these are free 15-minutes sessions.
No, you don’t need to come to a therapist with a specific diagnosis and you don’t even need to wait until your struggling or at a breaking point to visit. Even healthy people go to therapy to practice good mental health hygiene. Your therapist will start off with a bit of small talk and ask a few questions about why you decided to go to therapy and what you hope to get out of it.
Some people open up right away, while others might take longer to feel comfortable, that’s okay. In the first consultation, you and your therapist are there to find out if there is a good fit; not every therapist is right for everyone!
The therapist will ask you about your feelings and emotions, as well as your coping strategies. If you feel anxious about your grades and exams, they might ask how you deal with this anxiety. These open-ended questions help the therapist get to know you and figure out how best they can help you.
Feel free to ask the therapist questions in return if it makes you more comfortable. You might ask them about their experience treating specific mental health issues, if they’ve been to therapy themselves, or what you might expect to do between meetings.
A Brave First Step
Going to therapy could be the start of something wonderful. It is important to remember that for therapy to work, it may take several sessions; but rest assured, many people including myself have gone through it. Therapy doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you, rather it’s just a form of maintenance for your mental health and a way to kickstart personal growth and healthy habits.
Please note that this post is written for educational purposes, it is not therapy. If you need to talk to a professional please book a consultation with a psychotherapist through Resolvve.
