Therapy can be vulnerable and new, so it’s natural to be nervous. It can be difficult to imagine the words around what you are feeling. Maybe you’ve experienced feeling tongue tied when trying to open up to friends or loved ones in the past. The fear around that can feel overwhelming. It takes courage to start going to therapy. The fact that you are on this website, looking for help, and reading this right now shows that you are being brave seeking help.

Therapy is a space where you can be yourself and come just as you are, including feeling nervous. I’m committed to finding a way to care for your nervousness and ensure sessions are as comfortable as possible.

I’m here if you want to talk about it during a free phone consultation.

Take your time to read through my website. If you sense that I may be a good fit based on what you are reading, you can visit the contact page and get started with me now.

During a free phone consultation, you can ask me how I work as a therapist, what a typical session with me is like, about how I have helped other people like you before, or any other questions you may have that are specific-to-you. You’ll also be able to discuss what’s on your mind and I can share my ideas around how I can help you.

It may be helpful to think of the first few sessions as trying out the waters together. During the sessions, you’ll be able to see how you feel working with me. My approach is not going to work for everyone. What’s most important to me is that you find someone who you feel is the right fit for you. We can explore that together.

It’s natural to not want to share some of the painful or difficult things we’ve been through. During our sessions, I will never push you to talk about things that are too painful for you to talk about. It’s my job to give you space to slowly start to work through the tough stuff. Gradually and at a pace that feels comfortable to you, you can share what you feel ready to share.

You can also share with me that you are nervous to open up about something and we can talk about that too. Whatever is present for you. Whatever you are going through. Bring that to session and we can explore that together.

If you open up to me, I will not think you are crazy or a bad person. I will think you are strong and a survivor. Many of my clients have had the same fear (that people would think they are crazy or a bad person). Through my own life journey and working with my clients, I know how “normal” your experience is.

You have nothing to be ashamed about. Nothing you can say will cause me to judge you.

I know nobody’s perfect, we all struggle, we all suffer in different ways.

Whatever it is you’re going through, I provide a calming space where I respect you and listen with focus and compassion.

You may be concerned that your friends, family, or work colleagues could learn what you have said during therapy. So you should know that unless you are suicidal, harming yourself, or someone else, what you say in sessions stays between you an me.

I highly respect your privacy and value your trust.

You can rest assured that you can talk about anything without fear of that information getting out.

If you have specific questions about how confidentiality works, you can ask during your during a free phone consultaton or anything during our work together.

You might be asking about how long therapy will take because you think that therapy will be an overwhelming process.

If this is true for you, I want you to know that on average my new clients start seeing small amounts of growth after the first few sessions.

By that point, they feel a little more calm and hopeful that healing is possible.

The total duration of therapy varies from client to client. Some of my clients find 3-6 weeks to be enough to work through the deep issues that are holding them bac, > while other clients feel more supported by longer term therapy.

We will work together to find the length of time that works for you.

Overall, you can think of the first session as a free-flowing conversation through which we start getting to know each other. I’ll invited you to share more about yourself and we can also talk about what’s worked or not worked for your mental health in the past.

Some questions that I like to ask during a first session include:

What brought you to therapy?
Have you gone to therapy before? How did that go?
What goals would you like to reach by going to therapy?

You can ask me questions as well. You might be curious about my experience or how future sessions work.

The most important part of a first session is to experience what therapy is like with me. If you feel calm, heard, and cared for with me, we can discuss if you’d like to meet again.

I’m here to talk during a free phone consultation where you can discuss what’s on your mind and I can share my ideas around how I can help you.

Click the “Get Started with Me” button at the top right hand corner of the screen to schedule your first appointment today!