First Time To A Psychotherapist? About The First Meeting

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

So, suppose you have already decided who you want to get to. You signed up, perhaps, outlined a question or questions in which you expect help from a psychotherapist. The day has come for the first meeting or initial interview, as experts call it.

It can really feel like an interview, which means there will be questions. There are probably many questions. Contrary to popular belief, a psychologist is not a person who sees right through others. Rather, it is a person who sees what the client does not always admit to himself. But before drawing conclusions, you need to begin to understand the person. You can look at psychotherapy as an art (I'm not afraid of this word) of understanding a person, making it possible to change your life or get rid of a symptom.

However, I deviated from the topic. Questions. Most likely you will be asked about the problem, or, correctly speaking, about the request. That is, about something that motivated me to see a mental health professional. Do not be surprised that there will be many questions. From my client and professional experience, I will say that this is the moment when you have the opportunity to better understand your problem, its occurrence and the impact it has on you. Interest in this area is a sign of professionalism.

Having understood the demand and expectations from psychotherapy, the psychologist will become very strange. Instead of treating, he will be interested in what kind of person you are. Questions about self-perception, self-esteem, work, family and sex life, stories from childhood … Why is all this? These and similar questions help to better understand you, as well as choose the method or techniques that are better suited and do not harm.

During this interview, the psychologist may pay attention to seemingly self-evident things, or, in the language of psychology, to key beliefs about himself and others. For example, that `` a man certainly must '' or that you consider yourself unworthy of another fate. The specialist can also react to the voice, facial expressions and intonation with which the client speaks, ask about feelings and emotions now and then. Understanding, remember?

I would like to give one more recommendation (yes, we sometimes give them) - ask. Ask what is not clear, for example, about the course of therapy, how it will happen. Ask about qualifications, whether the psychologist is undergoing personal therapy and supervision. It's your right. Perhaps not all doctors are fond of asking questions about the sterility of their instruments, but everyone should stick to it.

And then the time comes to an end. Yes, in one meeting, most likely nothing has changed. What can you endure for yourself? First, an understanding of whether it is comfortable to speak with this specialist. Secondly, understanding whether you want to work with this specialist, and if so, on what issue? How long? (This can be 10-20 meetings, and maybe more). What result do you want to arrive at? How the request is related to your personality and the realities in which you live.

To put it simply, the feeling that you are being heard, the feeling that you can be helped here and the understanding of how this will happen - this is what you can take for yourself from the initial interview. These will then be meetings once or twice a week, free associations, homework and questions about how you feel about a psychologist now. And after the first meeting, it is enough to feel that you are in front of you who is ready to help.