During sessions, you will talk about the primary concerns you have and issues in your life that led you to seek counseling. It takes a strong and brave person to reach out for help when it is needed and that is a step forward that deserves respect.
The goal of the first one to two sessions will be to get to know as much about your current life situation as possible, especially the issues that brought you in to therapy, assessing your needs and creating goals to achieve through therapy. Although, I take a present-focused approach to issues, we will often explore how past experiences have impacted current thought patterns in order to address them fully. We will explore difficult and uncomfortable emotions, which may mean that you will feel a little worse before you feel better. Realize that this is a part of the therapeutic process. When you explore difficult thoughts, incidents and emotions in a safe space with your therapist, you won’t be ambushed by them at the worst times. Change can be uncomfortable at times but pushing through this discomfort yields growth, achievements and fulfillment.
We often give “homework” to clients to work on between sessions in order to allow them to practice their skills throughout the week and gain as much as they can throughout the therapeutic process. The clients who get the most out of therapy actively participate inside and outside of scheduled therapy sessions.