5 things you can expect when you visit a mental health professional for the first time
An article by Valentina Bianchini
Sometimes you go through a difficult time in your life and you are not really sure how to cope with it. You might then come to the conclusion that you would benefit from some help to figure out how to move forward. If that is the case, it might be a good idea to schedule an appointment with a mental health professional.
If you are already seeing a mental health professional, or have booked your first appointment, congratulations! This decision shows a lot of courage and you should be proud of yourself for that. However, you might still feel nervous about your first session, maybe because you do not really know what to expect from it: that is completely normal and okay, do not let yourself be intimidated by this feeling.
In this article we will walk you through a few situations you can expect from your first therapy session, whether it be one-on-one or group therapy. This might help you have a clearer picture of what to look forward to.
1. You will be asked what brought you there
Your therapist will probably ask you a few questions, like: “What brought you here today? Why are you seeking help? What challenges are you facing in your daily life? How are you coping with them?” You might also be asked demographic information (e.g. your age, job, if you have recently experienced some changes in your life) and most of the time you will be asked about your relationship with family, friends, romantic partners and so on.
The reason for these questions is that your therapist needs to start painting the picture of who you are and what context you live in — since, as human beings, we are in constant interaction with our environment. The more your therapist knows, the easier it will be for them to help you, because they will understand your background, the things you are struggling with and the path you took to get to where you are right now.
If you want, before you get to your first appointment you can briefly think about some of the questions mentioned above. It can be beneficial to reflect about yourself in order to offer your therapist a clearer picture of where you stand.
2. Confidentiality
All mental health professionals are obliged by their ethical code to keep what happens in the therapy session strictly confidential. Breaking this principle would lead to them having their license revoked.
Your therapy session will always be a safe space, free of judgement, where you can speak your truth.
If you are opting for group therapy, the therapist will start by asking the other members of the group to make a verbal commitment to keeping the confidentiality of the group and doing their part to help build a safe environment for all.
The only time where a mental health professional will be required to speak about what happens in the session is if the person poses a serious threat to others, or if it is required by court.
3. Expectations will be set
Your first therapy session is a special space for you to work on your self-care, knowledge and personal growth.
For this purpose, your therapist might emphasize that their role is to guide you through an exploration process where they will be by your side, supporting and encouraging you. Their job is to help their patients get out of their comfort zone, learn new skills and gain more awareness in a protected environment.
Your first therapy session might feel like your first day at school, when you feel a bit nervous about getting to know your teacher and your new environment.
If you choose to try out group therapy, it might feel daunting to meet new people and open yourself up by talking about your feelings. This is completely understandable. It is the therapist’s job, in this case, to create an environment so that everyone feels at ease and able to speak. The majority of times, even though you may be weary at first, it takes most people just one session to get past their fears and start feeling comfortable within their group.
4. A sense of relief
Although your first therapy session is likely to be more exploratory and touch on many different topics, (which might not be the case for the following ones) people often feel relieved immediately afterwards because they were able to take some of their emotional burden off their shoulders. In group therapy, especially, hearing other people talk about their issues and how they deal with their struggles can be incredibly healing and enlightening. In addition, having somebody who listens to you without judgment, from a space of compassion and openness, is often enough for the clients to feel seen and valued.
Especially when the emotional content is very intense and you feel like you cannot really talk about it with anybody else, you might experience a burden lifted from your chest even after just one session.
Expressing one’s emotions is the first step of the healing process. It is not always easy — on the contrary, it might get quite uncomfortable for you to face certain feelings. However, when this happens it usually means you are working in the right direction. So give yourself some time and don’t give up!
5. Some strategies for your daily life
After getting to know you a bit more, your therapist might give you some “homework” for the next session. It usually consists of a few strategies that you can implement in your daily life to cope with your challenges more effectively, or even some ideas to think about. In a group, the therapist might give each person a specific goal for the next session, valuing each person’s personal growth trajectory, or they might give some topics for the whole group to think about and discuss.
For example, if you are struggling with anxiety, your therapist might suggest you to practice some physical activity in the coming weeks and to talk about that experience in the following session.
These strategies are meant to be tried out to see what works best for you. Even if it is challenging, it will be most beneficial for you to be open to trying out new things: activities, thoughts, habits. At the same time, different strategies work for different people, so you should not be afraid to tell your therapist if something is not working for you.
Ready for your first therapy session?
After reading this article, hopefully, you have a clearer idea of what to expect from your first appointment with a mental health professional.
There is one last thing you should really keep in mind: a good client-therapy match is very subjective and not every therapist will be ideal for you, just because they have a diploma.
The reason for that is that the core of psychological support is the human relationship between you and your therapist — and sometimes two people just do not click well together. If that happens, do not be discouraged. It can happen and there is nothing wrong with that. It does not mean that therapy in general is not for you. On the contrary, it probably means that you need to find another professional with whom you have a better connection.
Ready for your first session? Give group therapy a try and find out the amazing results that building a support network in a safe environment can give you.
At Hug-a-Group we specialize in support groups and you can try this approach for free, the first session is on us 😊
Hug us here: https://hugagroup.com/app
