What to Expect From an Initial Therapy Consultation

So things have been tough recently and you’ve been thinking about seeing a therapist to talk about how you’re feeling. You’ve had a look online at who’s out there and stumbled across me, or heard about me through word-of-mouth, and you think I might be a good fit for you. If you’ve never had therapy before, you’re probably feeling anxious and unsure about what it’ll be like, and wondering if it’s right for you.

After giving it some thought, you’ve taken the huge step of making contact with me, and we’ve arranged to have an initial consultation. But what does that mean, and what will be involved? Read on to find out more…

What’s the point of having an initial consultation?

I always have an initial consultation via telephone or video call with prospective clients before agreeing to work with them, and there are a few reasons for this.

One of the most important reasons is to see if we’re a good fit for each other. This isn’t just about whether I work with the issues you’d like support with, but whether we feel comfortable with each other and able to build a strong working relationship.

It’s also a chance for me to get a sense of whether you’re ready for therapy, as well as if my therapeutic approach is likely to be right for you. In therapy terms, I work integratively and relationally, which basically means that I believe that our therapeutic relationship is likely to be really important in the therapy process. It also means that I may use techniques and ideas from different types of therapy that I think might resonate for you.

In the initial consultation, I will talk through things like: how I manage confidentiality and safeguarding; my session fees and cancellation policy; what I do with any information I collect about you, and how many sessions I would suggest having.

You might have some questions and anxiety about meeting me, so this is an opportunity for us to have a chat about them. It may be that we decide not to work together after the consultation, and if so, I can go through some other options for you to consider if you’d like.

What questions will you ask me?

I prefer to ask as few questions as possible in a consultation because I think it’s important for you to be able to tell me about whatever you feel is important for me to know. There are, however, a few questions that I will usually ask in an initial consultation, which I’ve listed below. I realise that some of them might feel a bit intrusive, but I ask them so that I can get a feel for whether I can offer you an appropriate level of support to meet your needs.

Some of the questions I’ll ask you are likely to be:

• Can you tell me a bit about why you’re looking for therapy?

• Have you had any mental health support (including counselling or psychotherapy) before?

• Have you ever had thoughts of killing or harming yourself? If so, have you had any of these thoughts recently and have you made any plans?

• Have you ever harmed yourself or attempted to take your own life? If so, have you done so recently and have you / are you receiving any other support with this?

• Is there anything else that we haven’t covered that you’d like to tell / ask me about?

A lot of people worry that if they tell me they’re feeling suicidal or self-harming, that will automatically mean that other agencies like the Crisis Team will be contacted, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Self-harm and feelings of suicide are complex issues, and for most people they’re a coping mechanism in response to feeling distressed rather than a desire to end their lives.

My job isn’t to tell you what to do - or what not to do - but to give you the time and space to express and explore your feelings safely. It really helps if you can be honest in your answers, and if you are feeling suicidal or self-harming, we can have a chat about this and whether therapy is right at this time. We may agree that you’d benefit from support from another service, and if this is the case, I will be able to give you some options.

If we agree that us working together will be helpful, we’ll discuss additional support options that might be suitable as well, and we’ll review things regularly to make sure that therapy is still right for you.

What questions can I ask you?

You’re welcome to ask me anything that comes up for you, and if I can answer I will do. If something is unclear or you still feel anxious and unsure, I would really encourage you to let me know and hopefully I can help and reassure you.

Do I have to make a decision about whether to work with you straightaway?

Generally, prospective clients and I will have come to a decision about whether or not to work together by the end of the consultation and we’ll go from there. Sometimes people would like to have some time to think about what they’d like to do, and if this is the case for you, we’ll agree upon a date that you’ll need to let me know your decision by.

This is because I have a limited number of spaces and there may be other potential clients who would like to work with me, and I need to make sure that they know where they stand too. Please note that if I don’t hear anything back from you by the agreed date, I will assume that you don’t wish to pursue therapy with me, and the space can be offered to someone else.

We’ve agreed to work together, so what happens next?

If we agree to work together, we’ll arrange a date and time for the first session, and confirm if the session will be online or face-to-face at my office in Hull city centre. I will send you an email after the consultation that will include confirmation of the appointment details, as well as important information about fees and cancellations.

If we’re going to be working face-to-face, I’ll include a checklist of measures I’ve put in place to minimise Covid risks (you can also find it here), and if we’re working online via Zoom, I’ll include the link to the meeting in the email. There will be 3 follow-up emails from my practice management software, which will have links to my privacy policy, contract, and intake form, and you’ll be able to complete and sign these electronically.

Once that’s done, we'll be good to go, and can focus on having our first session in our work together!

I hope that this post has addressed some of the questions and worries you might have about starting therapy. If there’s anything else you’re unsure about, or you’re feeling reassured and would like to book a consultation, please do feel free to get in touch.

You can contact me using the form below, via email to emma@emmapooleytherapy.com, or find me on Facebook and Instagram @emmapooleytherapy; I’d love to hear from you!