Preparing for a first session

What usually happens

The professional will ask what brought the person there and what they would like to be different. There are usually practical questions as well: how often sessions would run, how long they last, what happens if one is missed, and how confidentiality works and where its limits are.

It is normal to leave a first session without having decided anything. It is also normal to decide, after one meeting, that a different professional would suit better. That is what the meeting is for.

Worth writing down beforehand

• What made you look for help now, rather than at some other time.
• What you would like to be different in six months.
• Anything you have already tried, and how it went.
• Practical limits: times you cannot attend, and what you can afford.

Questions to ask

These are practical rather than personal, and a professional should expect them.

• What approach do you work in, and why would it suit what I have described?
• What training and registration do you hold, and where can that be checked?
• How long is a session, how often would we meet, and for how many weeks?
• What does it cost, and what happens if I miss a session?
• How is confidentiality handled, and in what circumstances would it be broken?
• How and when would we review whether this is working?
• What happens if I want to stop, or if we decide someone else would suit better?

Afterwards

Give it a little time before deciding. A first session is often uncomfortable whatever the fit, because describing a difficulty out loud to a stranger is itself hard work. What matters more is whether the professional understood what was said and whether their description of the next few weeks sounded workable.