What should you expect for your first session?
Before Your Counselling Session
Whether you’re on the fence about counselling or fully prepared to take the plunge, it’s essential that you have a general idea of what your counselling sessions will look like.
We use an automated booking software called Jane App that allows you to create a profile and book appointments before even speaking to your counsellor. You have the option to meet our therapists through a 30-minute free consultation to decide if the fit is right for you. Any questions or concerns you might have can be reviewed in this session. If you would like to proceed, the therapist can then book your first paid session or you can book it yourself.
You will receive email notifications requesting that you confirm your contact information and to provide some details about what you’d like to focus on in counselling. These are part of our intake process and are to be completed before the first paid session. After confirming that your set appointment still works for you, payment will usually be processed right before the first paid session and you’ll receive a receipt shortly after this step.
During Your Counselling Session
We almost always begin your first paid session by reviewing your Informed Consent to ensure you’re aware of your rights as a client. The rest of the first session is generally used to get to know you, begin the process of creating clinical goals, and learn about what you expect to gain from counselling.
This first session is an opportunity to explore your experience more in-depth though you shouldn’t feel any pressure to share too much if you aren’t quite ready. These first sessions will match your pace.
The session will also be used to determine how often you would like to meet with your therapist over the course of your work together (once per week, every two weeks, etc). The follow-up appointment can be booked by your therapist at the end of your session or you can book an appointment at another time, whichever you prefer.
What Does Counselling Even Look Like?
This is an underrated question. Uncertainty around what sessions look like can be enough to keep many people away from counselling altogether. Every practice and agency may have a unique intake process, but we’re all after the same thing: ensuring that the service we provide is a good fit for you.
We try to make the intake process easy for you by giving you the option to attend a free 30-minute consultation where you can meet with your counsellor to see if the fit feels right to you. Consultations are a great place to share any concerns or ask any questions with your counsellor. These sessions can be done face-to-face in our office at 684 Belmont Avenue West or through a video call or phone call. You’ll receive email and/or text reminders (if you select them on your Jane profile) for each booked appointment and have the option to change your appointment (format or date/time) up to 24 hours in advance.
Above, you read our counsellors will usually begin your first 60-minute appointment reviewing your rights as a client, limits to your confidentiality, and a review of what your sessions can look like (a lot like what we’re doing here!). It shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes before getting to the good stuff. Questions about what brings you to counselling, obstacles that add to your struggle, learning about your supports, and gaining insight into what you expect are just a few things you can expect from your first session.