Whether you’re coming as an individual or as a couple, the process of therapy with me looks pretty much the same.
Q & A/Consultation Call
Most clients will start here, with a free call to get your questions answered, get a feel for my personality and style, and decide if you want to make an appointment. When you book your call through the Client Portal, you’ll get a confirmation email with a link to a pre-call form. This lets me know what your questions and concerns are, so you can get the most out of our time on the phone. At the end of the call, you can decide whether to set up your first session.
Setting Up Your First Session
In the Client Portal, you can schedule either a 50-min or 80-min individual or couples session. By choosing which option you want, you’ll be able to see every opening I have that fits and select one that meets your needs. You’ll be asked to give a credit card or HSA card to hold the appointment time, and you’ll get a confirmation email. If you allow the system to, it will send you text and email reminders and confirmations. I suggest you sign up for those, if you’re as busy and over scheduled as I sometimes am!
Your confirmation email will have a link to some forms you’ll need to complete before your first session. Getting them done ahead of time, and giving detailed answers, will mean more of your session can be spent working on your problems.
That email will also have a link to the online session or directions to the office, so don’t lose it!
The First Session
Video: A few minutes before your starting time, try to be somewhere quiet and private. If you’re a couple, you can both be on the same device, or different devices.
Click the link in the confirmation email to go to my online waiting room. Login with your name, and at your session time, I’ll start the call.
In-Person: When you arrive at the office, push the button marked with my name and have a seat. I’ll bring you up to the counseling office at your appointment time.
I’ll want to hear from you what’s going on that brings you in to therapy, and if you’re part of a couple, I’ll be interested in both of your perspectives. I’ll ask some direct questions, and offer some ideas about how we’d work together to get you from where you are to where you want to be.
If you’re part of a couple, I won’t let you fight or be disrespectful to each other in our session, but I will observe the ways you relate to each other, in order to better understand your dynamics.
Individual or couple, I’ll probably give you some homework to focus on before your next appointment.
At the end of the session, you’ll have another chance to ask any questions you might have. If you decide to keep working with me, you can go back to the Portal to set up your next appointments. If you don’t think I’m a good fit, I can refer you to someone who might better meet your needs.
Moving Forward – Couples
I offer my couples a wonderful assessment tool, pioneered by renowned researchers Julie and John Gottman. I’ll give you the information about that at your first session and ask that you have it completed before your fifth session.
Within the first few appointments, I’ll meet with each of you individually. That usually happens as sessions three and four, but sometimes it differs slightly. This is to get a better sense of you as people, and understand your individual strengths and shortcomings.
Moving Forward – Individuals
Depending on the reasons you’re coming to me, I have many assessments and tools we’ll use to help you work on and improve the challenges you’re facing. As we get to know each other better, I’ll offer homework that directly speaks to your needs, and personalized, targeted direction toward your goals.