Meeting Your New Therapist For The First Time
Beginning to work with a new therapist is the start of a journey. It is exciting but can also be daunting. It may your first experience with therapy, or you may be continuing your therapy story by opening a chapter with a new therapist. Either way, starting work with a new therapist provides a special opportunity. It is a time to look your therapeutic goals, address concerns from a different perspective, and form a new relationship.
It is the goal that starting therapy is an empowering experience. The therapy space is an open and safe one, built for the sole intention of supporting clients. Be honest with yourself regarding why you want therapy, and what you hope to get out of it. Be honest with your therapist about what you want your therapy to look like. Make sure to find a therapist that is a good match for you. Therapy is a relational process. So,,finding a therapist you are comfortable with, and feel understood by, is crucial. Once you find the right therapist, the therapy work has unlimited potential.
If you have been in therapy before, you have the opportunity to bring what you have learned into the new therapeutic space. It can be helpful to share with your new therapist what you have done in therapy in the past. What worked? What didn’t work? What did you like or not like? When did you feel the most heard? What have you wanted to work on that you haven’t gotten to yet? Your new therapeutic chapter can build on the work you have already done. It is entirely up to you how you want to share your therapeutic past with your new therapist. You can start from the beginning of your story, or consent for your old therapist to bring your new one up to speed. The choice is entirely yours and can be an empowering one to make.
Whether it is starting therapy for the first time, or starting with a new therapist, committing to working on yourself takes bravery. As you prepare for your first session, celebrate yourself! Acknowledge that you are being vulnerable, and willing to open up with someone. Therapy is a wonderful process. Working with a new therapist can often enhance and propel this process, leading you to the happiest version of you.
Isabella Bruner, M. Ed.