How to Prepare for Your First Therapy Session

So, if you’ve never gone to counselling before you may be feeling anxious about getting started. In fact, I have yet to meet a client where they didn’t come into my office feeling just a tad nervous or uneasy. Hopefully, what you will find is within the first few minutes (or at the very least, by the end of the session), those fears will subside. 

To ease some of your worries now though, here are a few things you might get asked during your first therapy session to help you prepare. Most therapists will likely ask,

“what made you decide to reach out for therapy?”,
“what are some of your goals for change in therapy,” and some therapists may even ask,
“how will you know when those goals are achieved and what would that look like?”
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Before your first appointment, it can be a good idea to start brainstorming about some of those answers, so that you also have an idea of what you're looking for from counselling. You can even journal them and bring them with you to your appointment.

Now, if you don't know what those answers are, that's okay too. The therapist's job is to help with brainstorming those ideas, and together, you'll decide what fits for you before moving forward.