Initial Session

How to Prepare for your Initial Session

I suggest sitting down in a quiet place to think about what has been concerning you and for how long it has been concerning you. Be prepared to take some notes on a sheet of paper or on your electronic device. Please bring your notes to your initial session to share with me.

Here are a few suggestions to help you write a brief history of what you feel has been going on in your life and why you reached out for therapy. Please keep in mind that your experiences and how you feel they are negatively impacting your life are important to share with your therapist. Therapy is judgement free, so please do not worry about being judged for whatever has been going on in your life. Therapy is about identifying what has been going on, what you want to do about it, who can help you do something about it, and then working together with someone to do something about it.

• What is troubling you now?
• When did what is troubling you begin?
  Has what has been troubling you changed in any way since it began?
• Has it gotten worse over time?
• Has what you tried to do not worked as planned?
• What are some things you have tried to do, but do not feel have worked?
• Is there anything or anyone that has helped you with what has been concerning you so far?
• Have there been significant events that have happened during this time?
• Do you have any other documents you feel would be important to share with me?
• Make a list of all the medications you are taking, even if they are for medical conditions. Include the name of the medication, dose, frequency, reason it was prescribed, who prescribed it, and how long you have been taking the medication.
• Think about what questions you might want to ask your therapist about therapy. Including how therapy works, fees, insurance, frequency, and duration of therapy.
• What are your goals for therapy?

Feel free to bring a friend or family member with you to your initial session if that makes you feel more comfortable or to help you remember things.

Your initial session will last about an hour, so taking notes prior to your session will help you use the time well.

Please plan to arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment time to complete your New Client Registration forms unless you completed them through our online portal. If you printed the forms and completed them in advance, please be sure to bring them with you. If you did not complete them in advance, please be prepared to provide demographic information, medical information, insurance information, and credit/debit card information (even if you plan to use insurance). You will be provided with a copy of all the paperwork that you sign to take with you for your records. This will include privacy information (HIPPA), office policies and practices, and fees for therapy.

When you arrive, go to the elevator or use the stairs to get to the 2nd level of the building. Your therapist may be with clients or in their office when you arrive. Please make yourself comfortable in the waiting area. There is also a restroom just past the waiting area. Your therapist will come to the lobby to greet you and get you at your scheduled appointment time. Your therapist will ask to make a copy of your Driver’s License and insurance cards at that time.

We want you to be comfortable at Stryker Behavioral Health, Inc. If you are not feeling comfortable or something is bothering you, please let us know. Initial sessions begin with introductions. We will tell you about myself then ask you some general questions before completing your initial assessment. I will talk with you about the assessment, tentative treatment plan, your goals for therapy, fees, answer any questions you may have, and schedule your next therapy session before the conclusion of your therapy session.

If you are seeking support or feedback for individual cases or your overall therapy practice, we offer ongoing or one-time clinical consultation and support in various areas. These areas include difficult or complex client cases, trauma-related cases and trauma-informed counseling approaches, attachments, interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), interpersonal counseling approaches, process-experiential counseling approaches, dual diagnosis cases, identification and treatment of subtle addiction issues, ethics issues and ethical dilemmas, professional burnout and compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, practice development and management, professional development and work-life balance.

If your professional practice could benefit from feedback or support in any of these areas, please feel free to email us at [email protected]  or call me at (678) 371-7189. We are available to answer any questions you may have about clinical consultation and to schedule a consultation with you.