What To Expect at Your First Therapy Appointment

If you’re about to get started with therapy for the first time, you’re probably wondering how it’s going to go. Will your first appointment be like your first visit with a new doctor, or will it feel more like a job interview or talking to a friend? How will you know if your therapist is a good fit for you?

Fear of the unknown keeps a lot of us from doing things we’re curious about. So that fear doesn’t keep you from your first appointment, we want to help clear up some of that uncertainty. Let’s walk through what usually happens at your first therapy appointment with our team here in the San Fernando Valley.

Introduction

The first part of your therapy appointment should be pretty easy. We have a waiting room where you can (ideally) relax beforehand. Once it’s time for your appointment, your therapist will come find you in the waiting area.

They’ll show you into their office and invite you to take a seat. We’ve designed our offices to be comfortable spaces. Feel free to adjust any pillows or anything else you need to feel good while you’re sitting there.

Once you’re settled, your therapist starts by introducing themselves. They won’t tell you personal details in their life (healthy boundaries are important in therapy), but they might tell you a little bit about their background in mental healthcare.

The bulk of your first therapy appointment isn’t about your therapist, though. It’s about you.

Learning more about you

Your first appointment functions as a sort of intake session. Your therapist wants to use this time to learn how they can potentially help you.

Therapists’ techniques and approaches differ, but almost all of them will ask the same question during a first appointment: What brings you to therapy? Be as honest as you feel comfortable here. The more you’re willing to share with your therapist, the better they can tailor a treatment plan to you.

To dig deeper into your reason for seeking out therapy, your new therapist will ask you about yourself. They might ask you to give them a brief autobiography, or to tell them about your dynamic with your family. They’ll usually ask if you have any experience with therapy in the past and, if so, what that’s been like.

The first therapy appointment is an exploratory session for both the therapist and you. By the end of your appointment, your therapist should provide you with a broad outline of what you two might work on together. In addition to talk therapy, for example, they might recommend options like art therapy or group sessions.

Finding the right therapist in the San Fernando Valley

By the end of your appointment, you should also have a sense for how you feel about that therapist. It usually takes a few sessions to build a rapport. But if you can tell right away that it’s not a fit, that’s totally fine. Get in touch with our intake coordinator (the person you initially spoke to in order to get started) and we can connect you with a different therapist.

Some people report that their first therapy appointment was easy and relatively surface level. Others go deep right away. If you leave that session feeling drained, know that that’s totally normal. Sharing about yourself — especially the more vulnerable parts of your life — can require a lot emotionally. We recommend holding some time after your first appointment for self-care just in case you need it.

If you come into your first appointment with a goal for therapy, our team is here to help you move toward it. That initial conversation with the first therapist you try might help you make progress. Or it might tell you more about what works for you and what doesn’t, and we can help you pivot accordingly.

If you haven’t scheduled your first therapy appointment yet but you want to, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our team here in the San Fernando Valley is ready to help you get started.