Deciding to pursue therapy is a courageous step, and taking the first step into a new environment can be filled with questions. This guide specifically tailors the experience at Mindful Therapies to help you confidently approach your first session.
Initial Contact and Assessment:
When you contact Mindful Therapies, our friendly administrative staff will listen to your concerns and preferences to recommend the best therapist fit. Whether you have specific needs, prefer online or in-person sessions, have location restrictions, or have a gender or experience-based preference, they’ll help you find the right match. Remember, expertise is only one part of the equation; feeling comfortable and understood is key.
The First Session: Exploring Concerns and Goals at Mindful Therapies:
A standard session at Mindful Therapies lasts 50 minutes (75 minutes for couples). Your therapist will guide the conversation, asking about your current concerns, their history, and your desired outcomes for therapy. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions yo may have about their credentials, approach, or recommendations for your specific issue. This is your opportunity to assess if you feel a strong connection and trust, which research shows is crucial for successful therapy outcomes (Norcross & Lambert, 2018).
Building a Therapeutic Relationship at Mindful Therapies:
Pay attention to your feelings during the session. Does your therapist seem professional, knowledgeable, and genuinely interested in your concerns? Do you feel safe and comfortable sharing sensitive information in the supportive environment offered by Mindful Therapies? Trusting your intuition is important – therapy requires vulnerability, and a respectful, collaborative atmosphere is essential.
Understanding the Process and Moving Forward with Mindful Therapies:
How can you tell if it will be a good therapeutic relationship? Some of what goes into this can be the natural ease that you might feel with the person who is trying to help. Are they professional, do they seem knowledgeable about the issue that you have brought in? Do you feel comfortable in discussing sensitive issues, and does it feel like a safe supportive environment to be in? Each of these factors are important, as the goal of therapy is to be able to explore aspects of your personality, life, behaviour that perhaps you have not explored before. Psychotherapy can leave you feeling vulnerable at times and having a strong feeling of support from the therapist will help you navigate these difficult and at times uncomfortable emotions. In some therapeutic settings, the therapist may gently challenge your old patterns of thinking and behaving; hopefully this can be done in a therapeutic and respectful manner, with the goal of creating positive change.
Additional Considerations:
- Remember, therapy is a gradual process, not an instant solution. Be patient with
yourself and the journey. - Open communication is key. Don’t hesitate to express your concerns or ask
questions. - If you don’t feel a good fit, it’s okay to explore other options within Mindful
Therapies or elsewhere. Finding the right therapist is crucial for your success.
By the end of the first session, you should have felt heard regarding the issue you want to work on. You should also have a sense of what working with that therapist would look and feel like. The therapist can often give you a general sense of how many sessions and how often therapy should occur to get you moving in a positive direction or decrease the symptoms you are experiencing. Many people feel tired after their first session because they have talked about a lot in a short amount of time, and perhaps emotions have been stirred. Give yourself some extra comfort after your first session – go for a walk, journal, or do something that allows you to mentally process the session and relax your physical body.
Reference: Norcross, J.C., & Lambert, M.J. (2018). Psychotherapy relationships that work. Psychotherapy,
55(4), 303-315. https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2018-51673-001.pdf