What to expect from a therapy session

What to Expect

There is no doubt that starting a therapeutic relationship is a vulnerable leap that takes courage, curiosity, and a willingness to collaborate. I’d like to make the start of our connection as comfortable as possible for you.

This is detailed for people who find joy and comfort in details. If that’s not you, that’s fine, too!

❋ Starting with Intention

You’ll need to find a private, quiet space for our confidential session. Place your laptop/device on a solid surface so you can move around as needed without juggling it. You might consider earphones. I highly recommend sitting down with a warm beverage or a glass of water.

It’s tricky to describe what therapy can look like without sounding prescriptive, but let’s give it a try. Working together, you will likely develop an understanding of the origins of what’s challenging you, your attachment style and how to honour what is safe and desirable for you. You will begin to notice patterns and behaviours you want to engage in more or less often, and start generating healthier responses to stressors. You might rebuild gentleness, patience, compassion and a sense of comfort with yourself and others. I will support you in developing skills to manage hard feelings. You’ll be able to build mastery over your daily tasks, not just improving your executive functioning with confidence, but with creativity and humour, too! If there’s a particular therapeutic style or modality that interests you, we can discuss how it might align with your goals. 

❋ Collaborative Energy

Good therapy centres your sense of respect, safety and comfort. I may have counselling psychology education and experience, but you are the expert on yourself. You can make requests, and I can make suggestions, but ultimately, we decide collaboratively how the session will take shape to address your therapeutic goals and in-the-moment needs. Asking for your consent is an essential part of the process.

❋ Exploring What's Possible
❋ Identifying your Therapeutic Goals

It’s important to have a sense of your motivation and hopes for our work together. However, if you’re uncertain, I’ve got some clarifying questions up my sleeve that should help! If you’ve been to therapy in the past, I appreciate hearing what did and didn’t work for you, as it can help guide what we choose to do and how we go forward.

❋ Beyond our Stories

What happened is often part of what we share as clients in therapy, but there are many other paths to self-understanding. Noticing our emotions, physical sensations, meaning-making, needs and requests. You are not expected to be a pro at these observations at first, but with curiosity and willingness, skills grow. If you’re interested, I would be happy to guide you, to offer any explanations and education that might help, and support your growth. 

❋ How Much Therapy Do You Need?

There’s no one answer to this. Many clients see me weekly for the first month, and after we’ve built familiarity, they may space out sessions to biweekly. Once clients notice real change, they may come every three weeks or once a month. If clients experience a setback, they will likely return more frequently until they feel greater harmony or ease in their day-to-day lives.

Some people come to therapy for a very particular problem, and when they sense they’ve developed the skills to address it, or that it’s more or less resolved, they may not want to be in therapy anymore. Some will approach their challenges from many angles and try different things to reach a point where their experience feels more manageable, which can take months or years. Whatever way works for the two of us together is good.

❋ If this sounds like what you're looking for, you can inquire about a free consultation call here.

“Healing is not a solitary act. When healing takes place, it has no other option but to ripple out... from the individual into the family, into the community, into the Nation, and into the world."