What to expect in a therapy session | Jay Reid Psychotherapy

I've never been in therapy, what can I expect in the first session?

At our first session, you will complete a few brief assessment forms that will provide me with an overview of what is going well in your life and what challenges you are facing. Next, we will sit down in my office and I will ask you to tell me something about what brings you into treatment now. As you describe the series of feelings, events and actions that have led to this moment, I will be listening with the intention of deeply understanding your experience and conveying this understanding to you. As you begin to trust my intention to serve as your ally in understanding your life – past and present – you will likely begin to experience a sense of safety in the room. This feeling of safety will allow us to begin the work of therapy.

What positive changes can I expect from therapy?

As you feel deeply understood and validated through our work together, you will likely begin to relate to yourself in a more curious and empathic way. Knee-jerk ways of reacting harshly towards yourself and your needs give way to a more nurturing and supportive attitude. This happens because we empathically explore why it was necessary to react harshly to these needs at some point in your life while wondering together about other ways of being that might feel better to you.

Let’s take the case of a woman who was relationally traumatized when – as a child – her mother reacted to the woman’s disagreement about anything with either icy rejection or panic. Either way, disagreement destroyed her connection to her mother so she learned not to do this. As we discuss how this lesson was learned, how it impacts her past and current relationships, even how it might play out in therapy, she becomes more aware of how it feels for her to live under this rule. She begins to notice the cost of this lesson to her – “Life doesn’t feel very meaningful when I’m always deferring to what other people want”. As these new reactions are supported in our therapy, she begins to experiment with asserting her needs in close relationships to see whether her current loved ones react like her mother did. To her surprise some people are not able to take her assertiveness while others do. She has to reconfigure how much she invests in certain relationships but finds her sense of agency and satisfaction in life to be markedly improved.

Other changes that occur in our work can include:

A deeper appreciation for the qualities you possess as a person
Less anxiety and depression
A greater sense of optimism about your future
Feeling more free – while also connected – in your relationships

How often do I need to attend therapy sessions?

How long will I have to be in therapy?

This question is asked so often and it is so important. Entering therapy is a commitment of time and resources that should not last forever. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to provide a concrete answer because the challenges that face each particular client are so different. For some clients, important gains might be achieved in as little as four months while other client’s with different therapeutic goals might benefit from attending therapy for multiple years.

[x_text]Contact me to restore your sense of predictability and safety in life.

Jay Reid is a registered Professional Clinical Counselor Intern (PCCi) #1189 under the supervision of Jane Jordan LCS #5115.[/x_text]