Whether you’ve been to therapy before, or your only understanding of counseling is from a movie you found on Netflix, you may have questions about what therapy is really like. I am hopeful I can provide some clarification about therapy in general, as well as what you can expect from therapy with me.
Steve Bressert, Ph.D. wrote an article, What to Expect in Your First Counseling Session, that helps provide some basic information that can help prepare you for your first session. The first session is a time to understand what has brought you to therapy, build rapport and comfort with the therapist, and discuss preliminary goals to address your needs.
Be sure to go to your first session with realistic expectations. Therapy is not a quick fix for your problem, rather it is a process. With some effort on your part and a strong relationship with your therapist, it can be a successful tool toward resolving problems.
Steve Bressert, Ph.D.
How the rest of therapy goes from there can depend on the best approaches to treat your presenting issues. This will be a conversation between you and your therapist. There’s no mystical secret-keeping around therapeutic approaches. You have the right to understand the “why” things are done the way they’re done in your therapy process. An article by Kristin Reynolds, Ph.D. and John Eastwood, Ph.D. provides some helpful expectations about how therapy continues after the initial sessions:
- The rest of therapy is devoted to helping you understand and resolve problems and to help you achieve the changes you want.
- Therapists take different approaches. Some will be more directive, providing feedback on your progress, homework exercises to practice some of the techniques learned in therapy or suggestions of what he/she thinks might be helpful. Others will give you more space to draw your own conclusions and direct the course of therapy.
- How much you get out of therapy will depend on the work you put into it. It is important to follow up on homework or goals between therapy sessions.
- Therapists may be willing to adapt their style to your needs, so it is important to discuss your preferences.
- Improvement is faster if your therapist can understand and relate positively to you, and you can work together on goals you both agree on.
- A good therapist will guide and support you, and challenge you when you are ready to be challenged.
- It is normal to disagree with your therapist from time to time. When this happens, it is important to honestly share your feelings or concerns. This will help you and your therapist to agree on how to handle this.
My hope is that in working together, I can create a safe space for helping you towards feeling improvement in the areas that led you to therapy in the first place, as well as improved self-awareness, confidence, and life satisfaction. I want to foster independence: for you to know that the things we accomplish together in therapy, are things you can incorporate and do on your own as well. I walk along side you in your healing journey, and at some point, you’ll keep walking forward and I will wave a congratulatory goodbye, cheering you on as you continue in life.
While this gives a general understanding of what to expect in therapy, it doesn’t highlight some of the unique aspects of online counseling. Read further about what you can expect in online counseling here.