Getting Ready for Your First Counseling Session
Welcome to Hope Seay Counseling!
You wanted to make a change, took the leap, and did your research. We got in touch, ran the numbers, filled out the paperwork, and got you on the schedule for an intake.
What’s next?
Whether you have been to counseling before or this is your first time, you have taken the right steps to make the long-lasting, sustainable changes you want to make. Meeting with a trained professional counselor who shares your Christian faith can help you meet your goals without feeling like you have to compromise the values you hold dear.
Although the pain points that brought you to counseling are very real and have brought pain and suffering, you may find that you will enjoy the process of counseling and discover that talking though your thoughts and feelings is in fact very helpful and can even be fun.
In order to get you off on the right foot, I have collaborated a short “things to consider” list for your review prior to your upcoming intake.
Counseling is an investment that involves your finances, time, and often your most intimate personal space. Naturally you will want to get the most return from your investment. Laying strong ground work prior to your intake can help you set yourself up for success before we have our first session.
Let’s get started!
During the intake, we will work together to establish a plan of action that will bring about the changes you desire, but first, consider the following:
1.) Begin with the end in mind.
What kind of changes are you wanting to make?
When you imagine how things will be different several weeks, months, or even a year from the start of your counseling journey, how do you want your life to differ?
Be specific. There are no wrong answers. Use this brainstorming exercise to your advantage to help you identify your goals for therapy.
Take a few moments prior to your first session to jot some of those things down. Open a running note on your phone, laptop, voice memo, or use old-fashioned pen and paper.
Have some fun with this. If you like using colors, use them. Write down ideas and things in a way that speak most clearly to you.
A few weeks after your intake we will look back at where you started and see the progress you have made. Together we will note your marked progress, and we will celebrate your wins!
2.) Identify your expectations for your counseling sessions, yourself, and your counselor.
Think about what you expect from your counseling journey and be ready to talk openly about these with me so we can work together to meet and exceed your expectations.
Have you had previous experiences with counseling, if so, were they positive or negative?
Additionally, while some individuals want their therapist to take clinical notes during the sessions, others prefer no note taking be done during session.
What is your preference?
Make your counseling atmosphere your own. If you enjoy sipping on a hot beverage during sessions, or chugging ice cold water, bring your drink with you. If you want to cozy up on your couch, by all means do so.
It takes courage to engage in a therapeutic process, therefore I consider the clients whom I serve to be some of the bravest people I have ever met. It is highly likely during your sessions that we will hit some nerves as we dig deeper into difficult topics regarding your life and personal story. Hang in there and do the hard things, I’m here to support you along the way.
This is your counseling and I am here by invite, therefore it is important you have the experiences you want to have during our visits.
As we progress in our sessions, we will track the work we do together and collect data. We will regularly review any homework given, explore thoughts you may have had in between sessions or anything shared in session that you would like to revisit or remember.
3.) Know about the logistics of each session.
Will our counseling sessions be virtual or in-person? Some prefer one over the other while other’s appreciate a hybrid model.
If virtually, strive for an atmosphere where you can have a private conversation without distractions.
Nursing momma’s and babies are always welcome, and stay-at-home momma’s may need to tend to the needs of their little ones from time to time, even while on a call.
Pets will often make an appearance as well, a bonus for you as you can get in your talk-therapy and your pet-therapy simultaneously!
Be sure your device of choice is charged and ready and that you in an area where you have a secure, reliable internet connection.
If in-person, don’t forget to account for Murfreesboro traffic, and be sure you know how to get to the office. Click here for directions.
If your session is a virtual couples session you have the option to physically be in the same room with your significant other or to join a three way virtual video call. Please keep in mind that while technology can be convenient, it can also contribute to unnecessary difficulties, like a bad connection or delays. In these rare cases, we will trouble shoot until we get a strong connection.
If you prefer, you and your significant other can sit together in the same room for a two-way virtual session.
In order to help you plan and be prepared, a count down clock is provided during virtual sessions to help keep us on track so we can be sure we are covering the topics you want to talk about.
The length of both virtual and in-person sessions are as follows:
Intakes and individual sessions: 60 minutes.
EAP, family, and couple sessions: 45 minutes.
If you are choosing not to use insurance: Intakes, individual, family, and couple sessions: 60 Minutes.
For 20 years I have been practicing therapy following a specific model that I have found to be most effective. While we will follow the collaborated, established plan of action, there may be times when we need to detour momentarily as other needs may arise.
We will explore together what that may look like for you during your intake.
4.) Be patient and kind to yourself and patient with the counseling process.
You have likely been practicing habits that you want to change for a long time, and it is not realistic to expect that you will feel better after one or even a few sessions. On average, my modality of practice lasts over a two to three month period (about six to eight sessions). There are many things that have to happen in order for you to make the progress you want to make. During the intake, we will talk together about the contributions you need to make to ensure progress as well as the frequency and length of the treatment.
Remember, we are aiming for progress not perfection and progress sometimes looks like one step forward and two steps back. What is important to remember is that while you are seemingly moving forward, or seemingly moving backward, you are making progress!
Keep in mind there is only failure or set-backs when we don’t learn from the choices we make and when we choose not to apply what we learn to our present day and the future.
Counseling can be difficult and challenging, but it can also be rewarding and enjoyable.
Keep moving forward, and with a clear and executed plan of action and you will eventually get to where you are trying to go.
“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we are curious…and curiosity keeps learning us down new paths.” -W. Disney
One more thing.
What happens if after the intake you don’t feel like you and I are a good fit?
No problem! We will collaborate together to get you matched with a counselor that may better suit your preferences.
There are things about your life that you want to be different. Areas you want to change or improve. By scheduling an intake, you have demonstrated that you are ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work!
You deserve to know you have not only been properly paired with a counselor that best suits you and what you need, but also that you are going to be successful in making the changes you seek.
I believe you can attain your goals.
You can experience success in counseling if you believe you can attain your goals, too!
“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” -H. Ford
I am looking forward to your upcoming intake and am thankful for the brave first steps you have taken thus far in your counseling journey.
See you soon.
Thanks and take care!
Hope
Click here to learn more about my approach to counseling and my areas of expertise.
