#2: What to Expect in Your First Therapy Session and Why Therapy is Collaborative

If you’ve booked an appointment with a therapist for your first session, you might not know what to expect. Or, perhaps you're considering starting therapy but you’re feeling a little apprehensive. By knowing what to expect during your first session, you can make a choice that feels comfortable for you. 

At Hue Therapy, everybody’s first session starts the same way. At the beginning of your first appointment, we’ll take you through a checklist of things where we’ll discuss each of the topics outlined below. 

Confidentiality in Therapy sessions

Confidentiality is one of the most important pillars of therapy. Psychotherapists, like almost all health professionals, are legally required to maintain your right to confidentiality. 

However, there are a few exceptions where this right may be waived, such as: if your therapist feels you are at risk of harming yourself, someone else, or a child. 

Most of the time, the practitioner will tell you if they need to breach confidentiality, and the reason why. These laws, of course, are in place for both yours and everyone else’s safety and well-being.

Note taking and record keeping in Therapy

Most psychotherapists take notes throughout sessions, either via hand or using a device. This is to help record important information you share. Sometimes, it is helpful to record verbatim what is said as words express our internal world and often hold unconscious reflections and meaning. By law, records have to be kept for 7 years in most countries and are required to be stored in a secure way to maintain privacy and confidentiality. 

Importance of location in remote Therapy

If you are accessing therapy remotely via telehealth or online, the therapist will – and should – ask for your location. This is to determine if the space you are in is private and safe, and in the event of an emergency, to develop a safety plan with your local emergency service.

Setting Therapy goals and expectations

Most of the time, therapy has no prescribed treatment length or recommended time frame. However, at your first session, your therapist will ask what you expect to get out of attending therapy, such as your hopes, expectations, or goals. 

Obtaining feedback for effective Therapy

There are many reasons why feedback is obtained throughout sessions. One main reason is to ensure that you feel you are where you want to be and benefiting from the process. Because we are all so unique, different approaches and methods of therapeutic intervention affect us differently.

Some interventions, styles or approaches work really well for some and not so well for others. Obtaining and giving feedback helps to reflect upon what works and what doesn’t for both the client and therapist.

At Hue Therapy, we like to check in at the beginning and end of every session to ensure you feel support and are a part of the collaborative process.

The collaborative approach to Therapy at Hue

Therapy is a collaborative endeavour. That’s why at Hue, we like to remind clients of this at the beginning of therapeutic relationships. We feel it is about acknowledging the common humanity of both client and therapist while recognising that we are all trying to make sense of the world around us in our own unique ways.

Placing emphasis on a collaborative relationship recognises that together, client and therapist, will explore possibilities with shared curiosity, while working towards potential hypotheses in relation to individual experience.

Embracing challenges and discomfort in Therapy

For most people, therapy is inherently challenging and uncomfortable. That’s why it is necessary to highlight that throughout one’s therapeutic journey, it is vital to accept, welcome, and sit with discomfort.

Therapy can feel like hard work that often comes down to the fact that you have been courageous enough to show up, to explore your blind spots, to share your pains or fears, to dive into relationships that hurt, and to acknowledge your wounds.

These are uncomfortable feelings to explore, not least of all when you may feel that your therapist is challenging your perspective or perception. However, this type of deeper work tends to happen once greater rapport and trust are established.

Conclusion

Understanding the key elements of your first therapy session can help you feel more confident and prepared for your therapeutic journey.

Hue Therapy offers a free 20-minute consultation to help you take that first step. Book your appointment today and experience the collaborative approach that makes therapy at Hue a transformative experience.