Initial Therapy Sessions: What to Expect?

Every therapeutic session is a one-of-a-kind experience. A group setting would be vastly different from an individual or couple therapy. Focusing on the individual-based therapeutic setting, the very idea of making ourselves vulnerable and opening the pieces of our lives could be the experience of a lifetime. It shows our willingness to move from the stagnation of life. At the same time it also scares us to abandon the comfort that we may have created, regardless of its nature being healthy or otherwise. With the first stepping stone that we take to care of our mental health, a range of expectations and confusions are bound to surround the client in the therapy room. But what could be the possibilities that we might get to see in our therapeutic journey?

The confidence of Confidentiality

We don’t want our life to bare open to strangers, for the reasons that they are private, to begin with, but also the very fact that the experiences are ours, and we decide with whom we share them. Clearing the air around confidentiality can be the first stepping stone to assure the client that they are being heard in a safe and respected space. 

However, it is important to understand the terms under which the therapist may have to compromise, which is being informed simultaneously.  It will be the legal duty of the therapist to inform your Emergency Contact and Law enforcement if there are indications of any physical danger to the Client or people around them.

As a client, ask as many questions as you want regarding the terms of Confidentiality.

Experiencing the Self

Certain situations have the capacity to overwhelm us. Certain others may numb our overall capacity to feel, altogether. The point being, most times we may not know what to feel about a situation or someone. One of the goals that most therapeutic settings hold is to be able to understand and be comfortable with our experiences. The “process of feeling” starts from the initial sessions towards a sense of ease where we try not to escape ourselves but acknowledge it with all its genuineness. 

Yes, there will be a lot of Questions

• How long have you been going through the problem?

• When do you believe it started?

• How have you been coping with it so far?

• How was your life prior to the situation at hand?

• What does the problem or the situation make you experience?

Some therapists at the initial session may also focus on your History primarily, which will largely include general medical conditions, relationships. Family, educational and social life.

These could be just the preliminaries; very general in nature. The way the client directs the sessions, the experiences that unfold, the resistance, shyness, discomfort, insecurities;  a lot of things will give way to a lot of questions. Most will feel personal. 

However, working through these questions will enable the therapeutic relationship to reach a point of familiarity and closeness, enabling us to take the required course of action. Without which, therapy may be rendered premature. 

Regardless, it is alright to take your own pace in the sessions. There won’t be any pressure to answer them right away. Take your time and approach the questions at your comfort

The start could be dicey

As we work on finding our emotions and moving deeper into them, we may encounter unprecedented experiences and feel worse than the present. This is actually a good sign!

The therapist will walk along with you to encounter these new hidden roads and aim at building your cushion of comfort where you can lean in whenever you feel overwhelmed. . Our feelings are part of our existence. Once they are accepted and the capacity of comfort is created, relief follows gradually.

There won’t be any Advices

Therapists will never advise. Advice, by nature, takes away the internal agency and autonomy of a person. It in a way leaves them off the responsibilities of their actions. People go through their own ways of living a life and are themselves aware of the best solutions to their concerns. 

The major motive of therapy is to encourage a life where we accept our mistakes and feel pride for our hard work. A sense of responsibility is inculcated with time. The therapist will not lead your life but You will be the one in charge and empower yourself in the process.

The therapeutic relationship is built with immense patience. Give yourself the time to go through the layers of your life in the same way that you have taken the time to build them.