Therapy Sessions: What to Expect and How to Prepare
If you are like many of us who feel nervous about starting therapy, you are in good company. If you are considering working together, I hope to alleviate some of those feelings by explaining what you can expect in your first and ongoing appointments with me. I will also explain how you can prepare to get the most out of therapy.
INTAKE FORMS
Once we schedule your first appointment, I will email you a link leading to several forms. I would like you to complete those before your first appointment. Those forms are similar to those usually filled out in a doctor’s office. These documents will give me a general overview of you and your situation. It’s also informative as it will inform you of your client's rights and service policies. If you allow me to talk to and disclose information about you to certain persons or organizations, you could also fill out a form.
These are some of the intake forms that you can expect:
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): We will not disclose your protected health information without your consent.
Initial intake form: This will ask you to provide your general demographics, information on the presenting problem leading to therapy, your general history, and current support.
Release of information form: If you feel some persons and organizations can assist with your recovery and you would like me to contact them about your treatment, you should fill out this form.
Service agreement: This form contains information on my professional services and business policies, including, but not limited to, fees, cancellation policies, confidentiality statements, and social media policies.
OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST THERAPY SESSION
The overall goal and intention of the first therapy session is to get to know each other and how to proceed. This process is usually what my clients can expect during our first session together.
Beginning: I like to start our session by briefly reviewing the forms. I will clarify some of the critical information, ask any question(s) I had while reviewing the forms, and discuss any questions (s) that you may have. This process takes approximately 5-10 minutes.
Middle: We will spend much time discussing the problem that brought you into therapy. We will explore your history and current struggles. We will also determine if and how your problems affect each other, yourself, and other areas of your life. We will then pinpoint the issues you would like us to tackle first and your goals for those issues. After gathering all this information, I will share ways that we could work together and ways I could help.
End: We will briefly summarize and discuss what we learned from the session. I like to end my sessions with a mindfulness strategy. It’s a way for me to introduce and practice a tool with my clients and promote relaxation before they go about the rest of their day. However, I can personalize my client’s sessions. For example, some may close out with me praying for them, which I will gratefully do.
ASPECTS OF THERAPY
Ongoing therapy includes several components. These are some of the components people often ask or wonder about.
Therapist-Client Relationship
The therapist-client, aka therapeutic relationship, is one of the most critical components of therapy. It is foundational to the work that we will embark on together. Research states that a better therapeutic relationship leads to better outcomes. This is why finding a therapist who fits you and your needs is stressful. Although I appreciate the opportunity to work with and serve others, I understand that I will not be a good fit for everyone, and I accept that.
The therapeutic relationship is one of the primary aspects of therapy I steward. The therapeutic work and the outcomes that my clients want are important to me. Whether or not I feel a change in the connection, I am dedicated to checking in with my clients on our relationship. I also openly encourage my clients to tell me their thoughts and feelings. If they are frustrated, disappointed, or satisfied, whatever it may be, I welcome it all.
Session Structure
Each of my clients' ongoing sessions is personalized—most like to individualize how they start and end sessions.
Beginning: I often start with a brief mindfulness activity, such as taking a few deep breaths, before starting. Doing this helps focus both myself and my clients on the session. We will then discuss any “leftover” items from our previous appointment that need clarification or delving into.
Middle: This is the meat of our session, where we will discuss any situation between sessions that affected you. We will go through the different areas, such as your thoughts, around that situation that may or may not have been helpful. I will provide information on tools that may have been helpful and could be beneficial in a similar situation. When available, we could also practice these tools during our sessions.
End: We will summarize the session and what we learned together. We could close our session with another mindfulness activity or possibly prayer.
Types of Therapies
I’m trained in CBT, psychodynamic, and motivational interviewing. However, I prefer to use four primary evidence-based and integrative therapies. These are:
ACT therapy: “unique empirically based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies, together with commitment and behavior change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility” (ACBS).
DBT therapy: “Focuses on teaching four core skills (mindfulness, acceptance & distress tolerance skills, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness) to help you create a good life for yourself” (DBT).
Mindfulness: Coupled with ACT and DBT, it focuses on building awareness of your internal and external world without judgment.
Nutrition and Mental Health: We will discuss your current food choices and provide psychoeducation on how they may play a key role in your mood and mental health.
Common Activities During Sessions
Every session will be individualized to my clients and their needs at the time of the session. Below are some of the everyday activities during sessions.
Mindfulness Practices
Guided Imagery
Talk Therapy
Role Playing
Thought and Behavior Analysis
How to Prepare for Your Therapy Session
There are therapy benefits that are fluid and unplanned. However, preparing for therapy could also help you feel more comfortable and make the most of your sessions. We can discuss more of the topics and concerns that matter to you. These are some of the ways that you can prepare for your therapy session.
1. Self-Reflection
These are some of the questions you can ask yourself. The answers may help you identify topics you want to discuss in depth in your therapy sessions.
What thoughts, emotions, actions, and situations did I struggle with this week?
What tools did I use in between sessions? What was the outcome?
Which situations could’ve used tools? What tools could’ve been helpful? (Don’t worry if you have difficulty answering this. We will go through this and equip you in session).
What questions do I have for my therapist?
2. Setting Goals
“Goal-setting is important because it gives you direction and a purpose in life” (unknown). Keeping your goals at the forefront of your life will help direct and sometimes re-direct you so that you will continuously move towards those goals. We will work on your goals in our initial appointment. This goal is also something that we will reference throughout our time working together. I also encourage you to have smaller goals for your therapy sessions. Examples of session goals include but are not limited to, topics you would like to discuss and tools you would like to learn or understand.
3. Practical Preparations
These are some practical things that may be beneficial to prepare you for your appointment:
Create a calendar reminder on your phone. Choose the time you feel you need to prepare physically and mentally. Most prefer to give themselves 15-30 minutes.
Set up a comfortable setting for your appointment. I prefer you sit up instead of lie down during your appointment and be hands-free. Doing so will help you maintain focus and ensure you can participate in any strategies we may practice during your session.
Minimize distractions. To reduce distraction during your appointment, you may want to inform those around you in advance, use headphones, and turn off notifications on your phone.
4. Questions to Ask Your Therapist
Do you have any questions to ask your therapist? If so, it may be helpful = to write them down and have them in front of you during your appointment. These could be questions about your previous session or about therapy in general.
Tips for Maximizing the Benefits of Therapy
Consistency
Attend your sessions regularly. Doing so can help you address your concerns more effectively and efficiently. It helps maintain momentum in your progress. Consistent therapy can help you amid your struggle as well as equip you with tools to use in future struggles. Therapy progress may not be linear. Sometimes, you feel like you are going backward in your healing. When this happens, therapy is even more critical. We must explore your healing and equip you with different tools or perspectives. I encourage you to commit to the process, yourself, and your goals. You are worth it.
2. Active Participation
I encourage my clients to communicate openly and honestly with me. Whether it is about me, themselves, others, or their situations, I welcome all thoughts and input. Doing so is essential in therapy. It helps build self-awareness, strengthens the therapeutic relationship, and improves communication and interpersonal skills. I want to help my clients as best as possible, and having communication and participation from my clients is integral for this to happen.
3. Patience and Persistence
Be patient with yourself and your progress. Focus on the journey over the outcome. It takes time to heal and unlearn negative patterns. Sometimes, it may feel like you are going backward, but maintain persistence even when challenging. Although it may feel uncomfortable and be difficult to address the unprocessed pain, consider if it is as challenging as the negative cycles that you have been in.
4. Self-Care Between Sessions
Take time throughout the week for self-care. This may include creating a work-life balance, such as ensuring you spend quality time with your loved ones. It could entail healthy lifestyle choices like engaging in physical activity and eating healthy. It could also include emotional self-care activities such as doing something that makes you happy, bubble baths, journaling, and mindfulness practices like meditation.
Conclusion
We covered information on the initial forms, the first and ongoing therapy sessions, and how to make the most out of your appointments. My hope is that I answered some of the questions that you may have about therapy and helped relieve some of your nerves. If you have made it this far, it’s likely that you are highly considering starting therapy or amping up your appointments. Either way, you’re making amazing steps. My hope is that I understand some of your worries about therapy and that you feel a bit more confident in the next step of your healing journey. You’ve tried it your way for a while. Some things were helpful, but they may have been short-lived. It’s time to do something different. I understand that I won’t be the best therapist for everyone, but if you feel we would work well, book your free 15-minute phone consultation.
