It can sometimes be difficult for clients to start psychotherapy. Unsure what the process will be like and perhaps feeling a little nervous. At other times, people feel excited or relieved to find a therapist whom they can meet and talk with about the help and support they need.
Psychotherapy is confidential and non-judgmental. It provides you with the opportunity to discuss personal concerns with an empathic and trustworthy expert in human behavior. In your first session, your therapist typically will ask a number of questions. This information helps in making an initial assessment of your situation. Important areas to discuss will likely include:
• Why you decided to come to therapy at this point in time.
• Your personal history or “life story”.
• Your current symptoms. These could be emotional problems, behavioral difficulty or how you see yourself.
• Your goals for treatment. What you would like to be different in your life.
Psychotherapy is not “one size fits all” and every therapist will strive to focus your therapy in ways that will be most helpful for you individually. As therapy progresses there are additional topics that may be very helpful to discuss:
• Your level of comfort and trust in your therapist. Although this may seem to be an awkward topic, the quality of the relationship between you is very important. Most therapists welcome these discussions and the opportunity to openly address any concerns.
• Ask questions if you need further information or explanation. Feel free to return to issues that you need to discuss in more depth. Express any doubts or disagreements you may have. Let your therapist know what is particularly helpful for you.
• Provide feedback regarding how you are feeling about therapy, whether or not you believe you are headed in the right direction. There may be additional concerns that you didn’t mention at the start of therapy, but would like to address now. Talk about thoughts you may have about changing the frequency of sessions (more often or less often), if you want to “take a break” or are wondering when you’ll know it’s time to end your therapy.