There can be a lot of anxiety around a first therapy appointment, and that makes total sense. You’re embarking on a new journey, sharing your innermost thoughts and feelings with a total stranger, and, if this is your first time working with the therapist, it might all be new to you.
For the first session and beyond, the first and most important thing to ease that anxiety is the relationship you have with the clinician.
A few things the clinician could ask you during your first appointment:
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Have you attended therapy in the past?
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What difficulties have you been experiencing? What led you to seek help? What are your symptoms?
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How is your home life and work life?
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Do you have a history of self-harm or suicidal ideation?
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What do you hope to get from therapy? What are your goals? What would you like to achieve? Whatever your goals are: communicate them to your therapist!
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What do you want to accomplish in your sessions?
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How have you been coping with the problem(s) that brought you to therapy?
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How are your relationships or how connected do you feel to the people in your life?
Above all, your therapist will want to gain clarity around why you’re seeking therapy and what your goals are.
If you have had therapy before, try to think about:
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What worked with the last therapist? Consider what you enjoyed about whoever previously helped you. Did they validate your struggle? Did they teach you skills to combat your stress and anxiety? Were they relatable? Did they share their observations?
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What didn’t work the last time you saw a therapist? It’s critical to acknowledge what didn’t work during past therapy experiences if you have that info to work with.
If you’ve never seen a therapist before, that’s totally fine! Focus on your goals and what you’re looking to get out of working with your therapist and go from there.