After deciding to see a therapist, it is normal to feel anxiety about your first therapy session, especially if you have never done counselling before. You are engaging with a stranger to discuss your feelings and examine complex issues that you are facing yourself or as a family. This can feel terrifying for some people. Your therapist understands this and will put you at ease.
Before your appointment, have the mindset that you desire to change. Begin thinking about the goals you would like to achieve. You do not require to set all of your plans before your first sitting, and they will get more clearly established as you advance through your treatment sessions. This will allow the therapist to prepare and customise a session that caters to you and what you hope to achieve. Don't feel that you have to elaborate on your intentions, as this will be screened in your therapy session, and you certainly don't have all of the answers.
It will get some used to for an individual to open up to and be completely honest with a new counsellor. Your clinician can be your most trusted ally, who will provide a safe environment and keep your information private. Try to relax and understand that the environment you're in is friendly and safe. Once you become accustomed to it, it will become easier to share your emotions, thoughts and actions.
Once you go into the Lifeward family practice, there will be paperwork to complete. Your therapist will have your appointment form containing the basic information but confirm some additional details. You and the therapist will review the informed consent form explaining the framework of therapy, the frequency and duration of your sessions and the rules about confidentiality. Informed consent is the contract between each member of the family and your therapist, which describes how you will work together and outlines information about fees and payment.
The first session will take approximately 45 minutes. During this time, your therapist will ask the questions to gather background information, including a reason for the assessment and more information about your family, medical and mental health history. Questions may include any other pertinent information that may be impacting your mental health. It is essential to form and build a good rapport with your clinician and assist with screening forms for your therapist to review to identify mental health issues and treatment plans.
During your first meeting, your therapist may ask for supplementary information to be signed, which would allow coordination of care with other providers like Medicare or Private Insurance you may have. The therapist may also invite additional family members or significant others to participate in the session's information gathering and treatment planning portion.
During family therapy session the therapist will ask to meet with all family members at some stage, if not for the first session. The opportunity will be given to get to know everyone to understand better how everyone interacts with one another in the family unit. Most therapists will view the first treatment session as an evaluation period, and the goal is to get to know one another better and see if you are free to communicate your issues. Lifeward therapists might like to schedule separate appointments with different family members. Maybe just the parents together. Children alone might address specific concerns that they don't feel sharing in front of their parents. Therapists might prefer to work with all members together.
The initial assessment will primarily focus on collecting relevant information. We recommend registering for at least one follow up appointment to get to know your therapist a bit better before determining if this counsellor is the right for you. If you determine that the therapist you are seeing is not the right for you, please let them know to make a more suitable referral.
At the conclusion of your first sitting, you and your therapist discuss your treatment options and plan for any concerns you may have.
