[Alexandria04]

What was your experience the first time you went to T? I am going to a therapist for the first time tomorrow and I am super nervous, mostly because I don't know what to expect I suppose. They are not just going to expect me to tell them all my deepest darkest secrets during the first session are they? I know all T's are different, but I would really appreciate anyone who wants to share their very first experience with it. Thanks so much!

[RedCylon]

The first session is always awkward. It's more of an orientation than anything else. Don't worry, you won't be revealing your deepest, darkest secrets the very first time out. Your therapist knows and expects you to be a little nervous. Everyone is. He or She will do their absolute best to make sure you're comfortable. That is their job. If you're not comfortable, then therapy won't work and the therapist knows that.

Since it's an orientation, you might have to reveal some basic information on why you sought therapy, what your goals are, those type of things. I had to fill out a little questionnaire about my life. After that, it was mostly the basic stuff about me and my past, nothing too detailed. Then my therapist told me a little about herself, and what therapy actually consisted of. But no, you probably won't be going deep into detail right away. That will take some time.

Good luck, and hopefully the more you go to therapy the easier it will become. You might eventually even look forwards to it.

[theave]

I hope it goes well tomorrow. As you say, all therapists are different, but in my experience the first appointment has always been about them taking some sort of history - so asking some questions about why you have chosen to see a therapist, treatments, medications and so on, without going into too much detail - and also trying to put you at your ease. When I first starting seeing my therapist where I live now - about 6 months ago - I was so relieved to find somewhere to offload that I just babbled on as much as possible and cried a lot - but when I have seen other mental health professionals for the first time before it's not always been like that. I suppose there are some that are just able to put you at your ease straight away, and others where you just don't click (I am thinking particularly of a junior psychiatrist I saw a couple of times, where I didn't feel he had any idea what I was talking about). I am from the UK, so anyone I saw there was through the National Health Service, and I sometimes think I was almost embarrassingly grateful that they agreed to see me; here in the US it's very different and I haven't quite adjusted to the fact that I'm in control of the process.

Anyway, I am starting to babble - I hope it goes well for you tomorrow - let us know how you get on.

[Alexandria04]

Thanks for letting me know a little of what to expect. They did mention about filling something out to see how they could better help me, so I am expecting a questionnaire or a family history sheet or something but I think we are going to have an actual session too. Usually the sessions are 50 minutes but they said the first one is 90 minutes and to show up early. Not that it's a shameful thing or anything but I hope I don't run into anyone I know in the office. That would be kind of embarrassing for me. Okay, now I am just babbling because I am nervous. Thanks for the info!

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by theave

When I first starting seeing my therapist where I live now - about 6 months ago - I was so relieved to find somewhere to offload that I just babbled on as much as possible and cried a lot

I think it's different for everybody. For many months, I told her NOTHING unless it was pried out of me.
This is not a recommended approach BTW

hope it goes well for you.

[gravyyy]

Good luck alexandria. For me the first session was really the nuts and bolts of my present situation and my past experiences. There wasn't anything too probing and we didn't really go into detail about any particular area. It's basically a general overview of you and your life. The questionnaire is typically a good thing as you can fill it out without feeling like you're being watched or judged. Then T is able to look at it and figure out what questions would be appropriate for her to gain more information. It's a scary process before the appt but after you leave it should feel fine and I know I was thinking, "wow, that was it?!? No big deal at all." Of course it gets harder from there at times but it's really a great process. I hope you and T hit it off and it's going to be a good fit for you. Take care... let us know how it goes!

[theave]

Originally Posted by sittingatwatersedge

I think it's different for everybody. For many months, I told her NOTHING unless it was pried out of me.
This is not a recommended approach BTW

hope it goes well for you.

LOL, SAWE! - I think because I had been seeing various people about 3 times a week before I moved, having nothing for a couple of months while I got settled took a gargantuan effort - so I was just ready to dump a whole lot of stuff. But yes, normally I would be much more reserved and it does take a while to build up a relationship with a therapist so that you feel safe revealing parts of yourself that you don't normally talk or even think about.

Alexandria, how did it go? Well, I hope, and hopefully you will feel relieved that you've taken that first step.

[jexa]

Well, I was 13 when I first went to a T. Actually I went to a whole bunch of T's to do a bunch of evaluations before I ended up actually going to sessions. It was okay. I didn't mind filling out all those questionnaires. When I first started going to sessions, at first I was really nervous but then I got used to it. I remember even then I could barely look at my T. Usually looked at the ground. No big deal. She still listened and I ended up looking forward to seeing her once I settled into it. It's the T's job to make you feel comfortable enough to talk about what you need to talk about. You shouldn't feel pressure to share too much.

Best of luck! Hope your session goes well!

[tryingtobeme]

The first time to my T was acutally good. I was nervous and anxious about it but when I got there and got in the room and started talking I was good. My T only goes through an initial history with you first session it is was 90 minutes long. Basically I gave my history since childhood, nothing serious though. Just what school was like, your family, who's in it, you know all the normal stuff you would tell someone when you first meet them. I didn't give any info that was hard for me until some time. Maybe 3 or 4 months after. it took me that long to build the trust to even share one bad time to my T.

All T's are different. I think most of the time though it will just be a history taking session. You will okay. T's are good at understanding how difficult it is. If you T is not sensitive to how you are feeling any time, then it's not a good T.

[Alexandria04]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences with me. I went this morning and everything seemed to go pretty well. We talked about some of my history and my family and got briefly into some of the yucky stuff, but not into too much detail. She seemed to understand where I am coming from so that was good. She wants to see me once a week for a while so I made another appointment for next Tuesday morning.

She said some of these things might not be fun to talk about and might be uncomfortable or awkward to discuss but that she thinks if I stick with it in the end the healing that hopefully will come about will be beneficial to me. I tend to agree, anyway thanks for all the support and hopefully I can get all of this stuff behind me! Thanks again!

[theave]

Glad to hear that it went well, and that you will be seeing her again next week. Sounds like a really good start.

[Liberada]

Glad things went well for you today.

On my first session, I didn't realize it was an orientation type meeting and I let it all out. I mean ALL of it! There were a few times the t was speechless and now I understand why but at the time I didn't. I figured...I had the guts to make the appointment, I was going to have the guts to say what was in my head. Turned out to be a near total waste of time. After four visits with three cancellations in between on her part, she quit working for this particular practice and went on to greener pastures. I mean told her everything. I did what I was supposed to do...and got dropped. Just all of a sudden, at the end of a session she says, "Oh, by the way, I won't be seeing you any more. I'm leaving". ... And I thought I had trust issues BEFORE her... My current pdoc won't give me the time of day. If I need to talk he passes me on to the nearest t. I can tell you more about her and her family than she can tell you about mine.

Guess I have some issues..

[Alexandria04]

Oh, I am sorry you had such a bad first experience Liberada. That really sucks. Hopefully your current or future T's are much better And everyone here on PC is always here to support you!