Following my article on “How to choose a private therapist” – I recognise that there can be anxiety on the part of the patient when meeting a therapist for the first time.

Expectations! Fears! In reality, there shouldn’t be any. In general, assuming that you have followed my recommendations, you have now decided which therapist to meet. Of course, you will have questions; please write them down as this will be your opportunity to address them.

The very first session is more of a consultation to help you decide if therapy could be helpful for you and, importantly, if the therapist is someone you can work with. Of course it’s a two way process, it is also a time for the therapist to decide whether there is a good match for therapy sessions.

If you have decided to come to see me, during the first session, you and I can begin to form a collaborative strategy for you to reach your goals in therapy – a strategy that we both agree that is realistic and achievable.

Here, I share some thoughts on what you can anticipate in your first session.

Imagine, for a minute, that you are going to have a haircut. For the majority of people this is a relaxing experience; nothing really to be afraid of. There you can relax, have a hair massage, look forward to looking good, feeling good and have also the opportunity to have a chat.

So, would that be with your hairdresser/barber, your best friend, a stranger at the bus stop or on Facebook, we are often glad to talk to someone and pour out our most private secrets – or so researchers are telling us.

With reference to issues, these are raised differently and at a different “speed” from one client to another. After a dozen sessions, a client revealed to me that he doesn’t like to “feel lonely”. Worth having those questions, I mentioned before, ready.

The rooms I use are cosy, private, quiet and comfortable. Everything discussed will be in the strictest confidence and no family member, doctor or else will ever be contacted, unless there is a necessity to do so and ONLY with the client’s consent. With me the “chat” is very informal but I tend to ask questions and I often give ‘home-work’. The client must never refrain to show his personality, views, thoughts and beliefs.

My job is not to criticise or judge anyone but to simply find out what makes my client(s) reach certain conclusions and to address them accordingly.

At the end of the first session you will have the option to book more sessions. The time frame of the sessions will be discussed in the plan. When the problem(s) are sufficiently addressed, the gap between your sessions might get longer as you begin noticing positive changes in your life and personal well-being.