Ep 04: What To Expect From Your First 3 Sessions of Therapy
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Are you a Maryland resident looking for therapy services?
Resources
8 Questions to Ask a New Therapist — Worksheet
Making the Most of Therapy Journal — Paperback
Transcript:
Welcome to the Starting Therapy Podcast Series. I’m your host, Melissa Wesner, Founder and Owner of LifeSpring Counseling Services in Maryland where our mission is to provide hope, healing, and empowerment through the collaborative process of counseling. This podcast is for anyone who is thinking about signing up for therapy! Let’s dive in!
Hi there! Welcome back!
I hope you’ve been paying attention to any of those pesky excuses that can get in the way of moving forward with therapy. Once you recognize those excuses, you can do something about them.
While every therapy practice is different, there are some basic things that you could and should expect from your initial counseling sessions based on standards of care in the therapy field. Today’s episode is all about what you can expect in your first 2-3 therapy sessions.
One thing that you can expect:---PAPERWORK!!! There is sooooo much paperwork required in the counseling field, and I am sometimes amazed by how many forms we’re required to have people sign vs. the forms that other healthcare practices have people sign.
One time I went for a root canal, and I completed 2 half-page pieces of paper. One was for my contact information, and the other one was for my insurance, and this person was about to drill a hole in my head! How is that even possible that there were no other forms that I needed to sign?
So, anyway….back to counseling.
Many therapists now use electronic health records which makes the paperwork process a lot easier. To get started, you’ll usually create a login for the therapist’s online portal, and you’ll sign all forms before your first appointment. Read those forms carefully. Do not do the thing that you do when you just sign without reading to get it done.
At your first appointment (often referred to as your intake appointment), your therapist should be reviewing that information with you again. As counselors, the American Counseling Association's code of ethics says that informed consent is provided verbally and in writing, which is why you review it in writing, and we then review it with you again verbally in session.
Informed consent documents outline what you can expect from the process of therapy from the therapist’s approach, risks and benefits of therapy, how to contact your therapist, what to do in the event of an emergency, fees, confidentiality, limitations of confidentiality, and expectations around attendance and missed sessions. It’s really important stuff, so I encourage you to read those forms carefully.
During that intake session, your therapist will also ask you about what brings you to counseling, What’s been going on, how long it’s been going on, current stressors, and goals for working together.
At some point, your therapist will likely ask you to complete some screening tools. These screening tools are basically assessments to get information about symptoms you’re experiencing, and they’ll help your therapist understand what’s going on and what needs to be worked on. Having this information at the onset of therapy is helpful, because when you and your therapist complete these assessments later on, you’ll be able to measure your progress.
The other thing that you’ll likely do within the first 3 sessions is work on treatment planning. Treatment planning is basically Goal Setting. Figuring out what you want to work on in therapy. Once you and your therapist agree to those goals and have a plan for how you’ll work on them, your future sessions will be geared towards working on those goals.
Later on down the road, you and your therapist will review those initial goals to see how you’re doing. At times, you’ll find that there’s progress that has been made, and a goal can be removed or revised. Other times, you may find that a particular goal requires more attention.
During this time, you and your therapist are getting a feel for one another. And that’s why, our next episode will be all about the important topic of Building rapport!
Thanks for listening to the Starting Therapy Podcast Series. If you’re a Maryland resident looking for online counseling services, or if you’re someone who is looking for Brainspotting, check out our website at lifespringcounseling.net or give us a call at 410-497-8451. We have great resources for you in the show notes too! We’re here to support you as you make the decision to start therapy!
