[cpa3485]

My first visit is tomorrow. Not at all sure what to expect. Curious to know what some of your first therapy sessions were like and how did they go?

[Arethusa]

I've had quite a few first sessions with therapists. While I'm not a therapist, I can tell you from my own experience that the therapist will be trying to get some background information about you, your past, your career, any relationships, your family. They need to get to know you, real you, in order to help you recover.

[stopdog]

The ones I have seen have asked why I was there. They did not talk a lot at the first appointment. The ones I have seen asked questions. A couple explained how they work (confidentiality, time limits, cancelation policies etc) but not all of them. Then at the end they have asked if I wanted to schedule another appointment and that was it.

[Tamster]

The dreaded first session....the T wants to know about you. All about you. And maybe some testing as well, I had my first IQ test during my original first T appt. We talked about my childhood, adulthood and everything inbetween. Work history and school. All your relationships with family and friends alike. It was the cementing of one of my best relationships with my T back in 1983, it is a bond of trust that I never have replaced sense but truly could still use to this day.
good luck on your first session and I hope it is as good as mine was.

[ECHOES]

I was a nervous wreck but it went very well. Therapists know the first session is particularly stressful and can help make it more comfortable.

My therapist asked the general reason I was seeking therapy.
I asked my therapist what her education and experience was and if she could help "someone like me".
We also talked about her hours and fees. She told me that she usually meets with someone a few times to see if they are a good fit to work together.

It was nothing heavy, kind of a meet-and-greet.

[sunrise]

I've had two very different first sessions with the two therapists I've seen. The first one asked me a ton of questions and was reading from a list and making notes as we went through all of her questions. She asked me many things that were not relevant to why I was seeking help. I got the impression she was just running through a form and asking me things for the sake of completing the form rather than if she really needed this information to help me.

The second therapist, my current T, asked me why I was there and let me talk a lot. Didn't have a list of questions or write anything down. He also asked me some questions about my family of origin--how I got along with my parents both growing up and now. And my relationships with my own children. He listened very carefully when I told him I felt stuck and needed help with moving past that point. Then he talked about how he helps people who are stuck and an idea for how we might proceed. He also gave me a chance to ask him questions about himself, his approach, his training, etc. I asked him very little... I was more interested in the feeling tone between us. He managed to give me hope that I could get though this crisis point in my life, whereas before, I had felt hopeless. So the first session was actually huge for me, and I wanted to come back immediately so I could solve my problems and get unstuck! I liked that T had confidence he could help me.

So that was two very different approaches to a first session. No telling how yours will go. One suggestion: if the T asks a difficult question you feel uncomfortable answering, it's OK to just say you don't want to answer.

[tinyrabbit]

My T runs an assessment and referral service with another T where they find out a bit about why you want therapy and what you're looking for, then match you up with a few potential people. That seemed better than just booking an appointment with a random T and hoping it went well, so I booked one of these assessments.

He asked what brought me to therapy. I opened my mouth and a jumble of stuff came out. He didn't talk much or ask many questions, but wrote notes on a lot of what I said (which he doesn't do in regular T sessions). He asked if I had any previous experience of therapy, what I did for a living, and I forget whether he asked any other questions about me. I think I babbled! He also asked about my criteria for finding a therapist, including what price range I was looking in, what geographical area, gender and anything else that was important to me - at which point I told him I hate the phone and would want someone who was willing to email to arrange sessions etc.

He then emailed me with a few options including going back to him, which I decided to do because I liked him and found it encouraging that he was willing to see me again. In our first proper, official session, he asked a few gentle questions to get me talking. I remember he asked a bit more about why I'd come to therapy, he brought up something I'd said in the assessment and asked a bit more about that, and he also asked me if I'd ever felt displaced anger. I'm not sure why he asked that, but it was a very good question for me.

I thought there would be lots of questions, forms to fill in, boxes to tick, etc. I thought I would appreciate a structured approach and be freaked out if I was just asked to talk. Turned out to be wrong on both counts.

[CantExplain]

It was so long ago, I forget.
I imagine I was scared, curious and excited.

[feralkittymom]

I think there are many possibilities depending upon the indiv T, whether or not it's an agency setting, how you present. I think it's wise to be as real and true to yourself as possible because then you will elicit the most telling picture of your T.

I chose my T in an agency setting by rec from a friend, as well as his credentials and position. The reason I thought I needed therapy for was not, in fact, where therapy later went. Not uncommon.

There was a short intake form which I hadn't finished by the time he greeted me, so he just took it from me, glanced at it, and put it aside. He asked what brought me to therapy, and I started to tell him, and burst into tears.

The gentle calmness and kindness with which he handled my upset showed me all I needed to know to proceed. I felt protected, cared for, respected, and encouraged. And lucky.

[sconnie892]

I was very nervous for my first appointment.
T looked over the paperwork I filled out before the appointment and asked a lot of questions about that. She also went over the patient's bill of rights and some other policy sheets. I vaguely remember her saying something to the effect the she was going to ask me a lot of questions. It was basically t getting to know me and my situation. At the end she asked if I would like to come back and should we schedule an appointment.

First session was the easy one really. Kind of a get to know you session. No terribly deep work being done, etc. It's the ones that come later that truly become difficult.

[cpa3485]

I think the session went very well and I want to say a quick word of thanks to all who left a comment. It helped feel at ease.

I had not met the lady beforehand and knew very little about her. She was very gracious and understanding and seemed very interested in helping me. Most of all though, I felt very comfortable talking with her and we made a plan to get together again in 2 weeks. I'm looking forward to it.

[SummerTime12]

When I went to my first session, she asked me why I was there, told me basic policies like the fee and length of sessions. For the majority of the time we just talked about casual things like hobbies, or whatever came up. Towards the end we started to talk about some reasons I was there, but not in depth.

[~EnlightenMe~]

I went in for the first visit to see my T about a month after termination. I reviewed with him what happened during the termination, and he was really supportive of me. He acknowledged how I felt and treated me like I was a human being. I am still seeing this therapist. Best of luck to you.