The first counselling session– I remember mine well and it was over 10 years ago now. I was nervous, scared but also with a little bit of hope that finally someone was going to help me. Honestly, I was probably looking for someone to just fix it all for me. I had no idea what to expect and could not get rid of the images of someone sat with a pad and pen looking over me laying on a sofa.
Turns out it was nothing like I had thought it was. From the very first session it was the best thing I have ever done for myself.
But I am moving on – lets stick with that first session for now.
Whether you are working with me face to face, online or on the telephone during our first session there will be some things I will need to talk with you about before we get going. The first thing I will do though is make sure you are comfortable.
After this I will check in with you about the agreement I sent you in advance. This agreement details information about me and how the process will work. There are some important things in the agreement which I will talk about in more detail when we meet. I will explain confidentiality and how that works and check in with you to see if you have any questions.
Following on from this I will take some personal details from you. This covers date of birth, address and any medical history that may be relevant. I will ask about your medical history and whether you are on any medication that might be relevant. This is important for me to know as some medications or conditions can impact on our mental health. I will also find out if you have had any medical treatment for depression or anxiety now or in the past. Again, this just helps me to build a picture of what you may have been experiencing.
The final question I ask is whether you have had any suicidal thoughts in the past or if you have self-harmed. I am going to do a separate blog post about this and the reasons why I ask this because I know what a big question this is.
Once all that paperwork is done, I will put away my laptop, take off my glasses and we will start to talk.
You may be ready to start talking straight away or you may want to take your time and get to know me better. Your pace will be the pace I go at. You may struggle to know what to say so I will ask some gentle questions to get to know you better.
Building trust takes time and I know what a precious gift it can be.
So that’s it – that’s what the first session will look like. This is just the start and hopefully these sessions will help you to identify the tools you need to help you most.