The first visit will likely be a lot of formality kinds of stuff. Signing a lot of papers for sure. The therpist will inform you about confidentiality and all that good stuff. You will also have to sign something that allows him/her to share minimal info with your insurance. He/she will ask questions about what brings you there which you don't really have to be all that detailed about. What they are looking for are current issues. When I first walked in I explained I was deling with depression and anxiety as well as a a little of what seemed to trigger it. Nothing all that intrusive. The therpist will more than likely ask if you have any questions. If there are certain issues with which you are dealing such as abuse, addiction, anxiety, self injury, gender, sexuality, whatever, then let the therapist know and ask how they feel about those issues. Some are not comfortable dealing with homosxuality and others are not ok with self injury. Some are not as skilled at dealing with certain kinds of abuse as others.

I would suggest you write a little bit down in regards to what you are dealing with right now. The anxiety that a first visit creates can mess with memory and the therapist may ask if you have any questions and you will go completely blank.

Good for you for taking this step. It is a scary one but also a very rewarding one