What to expect in your first face-to-face session

Hello and welcome to my blog. This is my first attempt at blogging, so please be kind. I will explain what you can expect in your first session with me as a face-to-face counselling client. My counselling practice is based in central Northampton. Starting therapy for the first time or starting a therapeutic relationship with a new counsellor can feel frightening. You sit in front of a stranger and discuss difficult feelings and how you experience life. This may feel like an alien concept to you, but I want my blog to give some insight into how this process works. Hopefully removing the uncertainty, you may feel coming to me as a client.

Before the session

To get the maximum benefit from counselling it is always good to arrive slightly early. This will give you time to relax and gather your thoughts. Arriving panicked after a stressful journey might affect your session. If you come by car there is parking on the drive outside the house. There is also street parking and no parking restrictions. No worries about parking tickets and yellow lines here thankfully. If you are using public transport, there are plenty of bus routes that serve this area.

On arrival

I will say come in have a seat and make yourself comfortable. As you can see from my picture you have a choice of seats.

You can expect to be offered a cuppa or some water, as the session starts.

As things stand nowadays milk can be a problem with hot drinks. Last time I counted there were about 12 types of milk!!!
I can offer you tea, coffee, water, and herbal teas. I use the old school milk, if you like the new more modern types of milk feel free to bring your own 😊. I have been playing with the idea of having a biscuit tin, I am definitely from the old school. I then thought about allergens etc and changed my mind very quickly. However, I may run a poll at some point “What’s your favourite biscuit?” Watch this space for further details.

Sometimes having a drink combined with the first session nerves, might mean you need to use the toilet. There is a toilet on site which is easily accessible.

The business

Long gone are the days of the client lying on a black couch staring at the ceiling. While the therapist scribbles in a notepad, analysing what’s been said. If you are worried that’s what happens in my sessions!!
I am a naturally calm relaxed person, and this comes across in my therapy sessions. I strive to create an environment to help you feel relaxed and comfortable. I hope this will lead to us being able to form a relationship more easily. Although it may not feel like it for you, the therapist works for their client. Which means I work for you.
The next part of the session is the assessment we look at your current situation, reflecting on any other relevant information. This helps me start to understand what’s going on for you. We also can start to form our therapeutic relationship. It’s also an opportunity for you to talk about what you would like to get from counselling. Once your assessment is complete, we will spend the remaining time working on an issue that is important to you.

Ending

As we move towards the end of the session, I will always give a time warning. This is so you know we are about to finish. We can then finish the session, and you can prepare to leave and go back into the outside world. Before we finish, I will ask you how you have found the session. I hope you will feel happy. We can look at the diary and book you in for another session.

I have written this blog to explain how I work and give you an insight on what to expect if we work together. If you are interested in counselling with me or have any questions. Please get in touch I offer a free introductory 15-minute phone call.

Ryan