It can take four to six sessions to get used to a particular counsellor. You may be able to open up straight away or you may find it really hard to get started. It takes time to settle in to the way counselling works.
We will talk about what brought you to therapy, a little bit about your personal history and whether you’ve tried counselling before. You may have a particular aim to reach for in therapy. The first few sessions are about establishing a relationship, settling in to counselling and getting used to the process.
When you start a session it is up to you where you wish to start. You may pick up from where you finished the previous session or choose to discuss a conversation you had that morning. You choose what feels important to you.
Counselling can seem to meander. It does not go in a straight line but stops off at lots of places in your life on the way, jumping all over the map of your life in what might feel like a random pattern. Trivial things that get mentioned can lead to deeper truths. There is often work done on a fairly surface level and as you get more comfortable with your counsellor you feel safer to go deeper.
We will periodically review how counselling is working for you and whether it’s meeting your needs. This includes discussing whether you’re ready to end. Endings can be abrupt due to a change in circumstances but benefit from being planned and worked towards. Sometimes you need to take a break from therapy and come back when you’re ready for the next stage.
Barefoot 