What to Expect From Your First Therapy Session
If you’ve never had therapy before, one of the biggest worries you may have is around not knowing what to expect from the first session. Every therapist will approach this slightly differently, and this often depends on whether or not they offer an initial consultation before agreeing to work together. You can find out more about what to expect from an initial consultation here if you’re interested.
In this post, I’ll explain how I usually approach a first session with a new client, and how we will build on the areas identified in the initial consultation. It’s important to note that I always have an initial consultation with potential clients, so there will be things that are covered in this that we won’t necessarily cover again in the first session.
Before your first session
Once we’ve agreed to work together and arranged a date and time for our first session, I will send you an email confirming your first appointment, as well as some other useful information. I’ll then create a record for you on my practice management software called WriteUpp, which I use to log your basic information, notes and appointments.
After I’ve set you up on WriteUpp, I will use it to send you 3 separate emails, each with a link to a document for you to read and sign. These documents are: a copy of my GDPR and Privacy Policy; my business contract, which explains things like confidentiality and my cancellation policy, and an intake form, which collects basic information about you.
You can view, sign and return these documents to me electronically, and if you’re unsure about anything, you’re welcome to contact me to check it out. I get an automatic notification when these documents have been signed and returned, so unless there’s an issue, you won’t need to let me know that you’ve done this.
I have a Business Support Manager called Lisa who manages my diary and supports me with other behind-the-scenes tasks. Every Friday, Lisa reviews the appointments I have booked in for the following week and sends each client an appointment confirmation email. If your session is on Zoom, the link will be in this email.
I have a 48-hour cancellation policy, so if you need to cancel and reschedule a session, you’ll need to provide at least 48 hours’ notice in writing via text or email to myself or Lisa. The time stamp on your text or email will be used to confirm that enough notice has been provided, rather than the time it’s read. If less than 48 hours’ notice is provided, the full fee for the cancelled session will still be due.
If your sessions with me are face-to-face
A photo of my office in the Danish Buildings in Hull city centre
A bit about my office
My office is on the first floor of the Danish Buildings in Hull city centre, and all face-to-face sessions take place here. Please note that as there’s no lift in the building, unfortunately it isn’t accessible to wheelchairs. The toilets are located on the first floor along the corridor from my office.
There’s a small foyer area off the main corridor before my office door, so there’s little disturbance from people walking past. For further privacy, I have put up an opaque window cover on the glass panels in the door, so no one can see into the room.
As you can see from the photo above, I believe that it’s really important to have consistency in a therapeutic space, which is why the general layout of my office furniture stays the same. I may move plants and other decorative items around from time-to-time, but I try to keep changes to a minimum.
The yellow chair that forms part of my logo is based on my actual therapy chair, and I will always sit in it for the start and end of our sessions. There is a grey sofa positioned opposite my chair for clients, and I have put a coffee table next to it, which will always have a glass of water and box of tissues laid out ready for you if need them.
What will happen when you arrive
As I don’t have a waiting room and there are various businesses working from the building, I ask that you arrive no more than 5 minutes before your session. To access the Danish Buildings, use the main entrance on High Street directly opposite Fretwell’s pub into the foyer.
When you enter the foyer, the intercom is on wall on the right-hand-side as you walk in. Use the ‘Down’ arrow to scroll down to my name and press the ‘Bell’ button to call me. I will answer it and will come down to meet you. If the intercom isn’t working for any reason, please text me to let me know you’ve arrived and I will come down and let you in.
We’ll then head up to my office, and I’ll show you where the toilets are on the way in case you need them, then we’ll go into the office and get seated and settled.
If your sessions with me are online
In addition to face-to-face sessions, I offer online sessions via telephone or Zoom call to any client who would like them. My aim is to ensure that therapy with me is still accessible to clients who are not in the local area, or whose circumstances prevent them from attending face-to-face sessions.
For all online sessions, whether they take place on Zoom or via telephone, I ask that you are in a quiet, comfortable space where you’re unlikely to be disturbed by anyone else. For additional privacy, you may prefer to use headphones during the session. Some clients choose to sit in their car for sessions, which is absolutely fine as long as the signal / internet is strong enough to sustain the connection.
Zoom sessions
You will need an internet connection that is strong enough to stream video content like Netflix to be able to use Zoom.
The link to the Zoom meeting will be in the confirmation email from Lisa. You don’t need to have a Zoom account to be able to use it, so once you click on the link, it will take you straight to the meeting. I have the ‘Waiting Room’ set up automatically on Zoom, so you’ll see a message on the screen that says I will let you in soon.
If you’ve joined the meeting more than 5 minutes before our session time, you’ll likely see one of two messages: if I’m still in another Zoom call, it will say that the host is in another meeting, and if I’m not online yet, it will say that it’s waiting for the host to start the meeting.
Once I’ve let you into the meeting, we’ll be able to see and hear each other. I ask that you put your video camera on for our sessions, as there may be a delay in the audio, so it’s easier to understand what’s happening.
Phone sessions
Some clients prefer to have sessions via telephone call, which is absolutely fine. You’ll need to provide me with a contact number that you’re happy for me to call you on, and be in a quiet, comfortable space in time for the start of the session. I will call you at the start time.
You’ll need a phone signal that is strong enough to keep the call connected, so it’s worth testing this with someone else before the session time if at all possible.
Other important things to note
For Zoom sessions, if you haven’t joined the meeting at the start time, I will wait for 10 minutes before sending you a text or an email to see if you’re okay and if you’re able to join. If you’re having internet issues, please let me know and we can always move to a telephone call.
With telephone sessions, I will attempt to call you at the start time. If there’s no answer, I will hang up and try again after a couple of minutes. If there’s still no answer and you haven’t contacted me to let me know what’s happening, I will send you a text to let you know that we have a session and to check you’re okay.
Once we’re settled, we’ll get started
Regardless of whether our session is taking place online or face-to-face, I will usually start by asking you how you’re feeling about it. I may also ask you whether there’s anything that has come up for you since our initial chat that you’d like me to be aware of.
After that, the space is yours.
For some clients, it feels easy to get straight into a flow of talking about whatever it is they’ve come to therapy about, especially if they’ve already identified what the issue is. Other clients find it more challenging to get started, particularly if they’re unsure what the issue is, and may need me to prompt them with some questions so that they can settle into it.
Although my typical approach is talking therapy, some clients don’t have the words to express themselves. With these clients, I will often invite them to show me what’s going on by using creative, non-verbal techniques. This could be in the form of using buttons to show how relationship dynamics play out or how big different feelings are, or by using art materials to create a piece that expresses things.
Every client is an individual, so what they want and need from therapy will be unique to each of them. It’s important that sessions go at their pace, and that they take the form that works best for them. I’m always open to finding new ways to work with clients to give them the best experience of therapy possible.
At the end of the session
In the final 10-15 minutes of the session, I will check out with you how you’ve found it and what you would like to do going forwards. If you’d like to book another session and have your availability to hand, we can do so there-and-then. If you need to check your availability, you’ll be able to email Lisa after the session and she can book you in.
Some clients find that they get what they need from one session, and may decide that they don’t want to book any more. This is absolutely fine, and we’ll discuss whether you’d like me to hold a space for you for a couple of weeks while you reflect on whether further sessions would be right for you, or if you’d prefer for me to close your case.
Other clients feel that they will benefit from ongoing support, and so we’ll discuss how many sessions you may want and need, and how often we’ll review things to see how you feel you’re progressing. I always encourage clients to be honest with me about how they’re finding sessions, as this helps me to understand how I can support you better.
Whether we work together for just a few sessions or several years, I hope that you find our sessions meaningful in whatever way that is for you. And remember, if you decide to stop having therapy for a while and then feel that you need more sessions further down the line, that’s totally okay and incredibly healthy.
I hope that this post has given you some insights into what to expect from a first session with me. If there’s anything that you’d like more information about, or you’d like to enquire about the possibility of working with me, feel free to get in touch. You can contact me using the form below, via email to emma@emmapooleytherapy.com, or connect with me on Facebook and Instagram @emmapooleytherapy.