What actually happens in a first therapy session?

For most people, the hardest session is the first one — not because of anything that happens in it, but because of everything imagined beforehand. So here is what it's actually like.

Before you arrive

There is nothing to prepare. You don't need a rehearsed account of your childhood, a tidy summary of the problem, or the right vocabulary. People often open with "I don't really know where to start" — which is a perfectly good place to start.

The conversation itself

A first session is an unhurried conversation about what brings you, what you're hoping might change, and a little context about your life. I'll listen closely, ask some questions, and begin forming a sense of what's going on beneath the surface — including things you might not have connected yourself.

You set the pace. You can say as much or as little as you like, and you're welcome to say if something doesn't feel right. There is no "weird" in this room — therapy assumes there is always a reason we think, feel and do what we do, and that with time the reason becomes visible.

Questions are welcome

A first session runs both ways: you're also assessing me. Ask anything — how I work, what approach I'd suggest, how long things might take, what happens with confidentiality. A good therapist wants you to feel informed, not just comfortable.

At the end

I'll share my initial thoughts and suggest a way of working that fits what you've described — which approach, what frequency, and what we'd be working towards. Then the decision is yours. You can book a next session, take time to think, or decide it's not for you. There is no obligation, and no pressure.

One honest reassurance

Almost everyone is nervous before a first session. Almost no one regrets having come. The step you're worried about is nearly always smaller than it looks from the outside.