What to Expect at Your First Therapy Session

Choosing to begin therapy is a big deal.  Let's say you found a therapist and are ready to start (if you need help finding the best therapist for you, check out "Finding the Right Fit" post). What can you expect from the first session and what do you need to know?

Typically the first session starts with any questions about intake and consent forms.  This can include related topics of confidentiality, payment methods or length of session, if not already discussed in the consult call. 

At the first session, you could want to jump right in to what is bringing you to therapy now and expand on that. If you are someone who struggles to know where to begin, you can always ask the therapist for some guidance. Some common first session topics include:                                                                                                                   

What is bringing you to therapy now?

If you have had any past experiences in therapy and if so, what went well and what was not so helpful?

What are you hoping to get out of therapy? If you have goals, how would you know you were reaching them?

Any background information connected to your area of concern can be helpful.  This can include family and upbringing, dynamics in relationships and/or history of symptoms.       

If you have any concerns, questions or feel nervous about starting therapy, that would be great to talk about. 

The first few sessions are about getting a sense if this is the right therapist for you and how the two of you work together. Part of assessing that is noticing how you feel with your therapist and what you might need from therapy.  For example, if you are someone who struggles to share, you can ask the therapists for prompting questions or offering starting points of discussion. There's no right or wrong way to begin, sharing as much as you can is a great place to start.