What to expect from therapy
with Callia Zimmerman, Online Therapist Specializing in Counseling for Professionals, Women and Perinatal Mental Health
If therapy is new for you, you might have a lot of questions about what to expect. It is normal to feel anxious about your first appointment, or even the first few appointments, until you get comfortable. Research shows that the key to success in therapy is the relationship between the client and therapist, so it is very important that you feel comfortable with the therapist you choose. This outline reflects what the therapy process is typically like for clients I work with.
First therapy session:
The first session is used to get some background information and talk about what brought you to therapy. Common topics include things like your past experiences, current stressors, patterns in your mood, what you would like to change and what things are helping you to feel healthy. During this first session, it is ok to let me know if there are some topics you are not ready to talk about.
This is also a good chance for you to ask questions about my approach, experience or specialties to make sure that we will be a good fit to work together. Additionally, I will give you some information about my expectations for engaging in therapy, such as rules about confidentiality and how to let me know if you are not able to attend an appointment.
Second and third therapy sessions
The second and third sessions are more conversational than the first meeting. You might do more talking than I do from this point on, and that’s normal! We will discuss big picture goals and specific short term objectives for your work in therapy. This plan we develop together will also include how to measure your progress and how we will know that therapy is coming to an end.
Fourth and later therapy sessions
After the third session is when the real “work” starts to happen in therapy. You should be feeling more comfortable by now. At this point you and I will likely have started to establish a relationship and your meetings should have a predictable rhythm. This is also the hard part of therapy, as sometimes you will talk about things that are uncomfortable or bring up strong emotions which can affect you outside of the therapy session. It is normal for some sessions to be more “heavy” or difficult than others. It is also expected that progress towards your goals will feel “up and down”, or that some days/weeks/months you will feel better overall than others. This is because in therapy, sometimes things get worse before they get better- but they should get better!
Ending therapy
Ending therapy should be a collaborative process. Once you have accomplished your goals or changed the things that brought you to therapy originally, it is time to plan for a graduation. In the last few sessions, I like to spend time reviewing the changes that you have made, identifying supports and strategies that you can use to keep up your progress, and discussing situations in which you might want to return to therapy in the future. After you have had success with therapy once, it’s easier to do it again!