My First Counselling Session: What to Expect

Beginning therapy is a significant step toward personal growth and well-being. It’s natural to feel a mix of emotions, including both apprehension and hope.

This guide aims to provide greater clarity on what to expect during your therapy journey. Knowing what to expect when starting counselling helps you to be more at ease and have a better outcome.

Your first therapy session is unique because it is your first meeting with your therapist. The initial visit is a time for both of you to get to know each other and to formulate how to progress.

This appointment is often quite functional, while further sessions tend to be more therapeutic. Therapy is structured, and the path you travel will be based upon the destination you have agreed upon with the therapist.

Starting Counselling: Your Initial Assessment

The initial session serves as an introduction between you and your therapist. It’s an opportunity to discuss your reasons for seeking therapy and to establish a foundation for future sessions.

There is no “standard” set of questions, but it would be helpful to expect a conversation that covers your background, current challenges, and goals for therapy.

Be prepared to share personal information and to discuss your feelings. This openness will support the therapeutic process.

The initial session serves as an introduction between you and your therapist. It’s an opportunity to discuss your reasons for seeking therapy and to establish a foundation for future sessions. There is no “standard” set of questions but it would be helpful to expect a conversation that covers your background, current challenges, and goals for therapy:

Issues Your Therapist May Explore in the First Session

• Your Reason For (Goals) of Therapy:
  The Therapist will often be interested whether a specific issue has led you to seek counselling. This will allow them to gain an understanding of the surface or presenting issues.
• Your Family History and Current Status:
  Family and background play an important part in how many of us come to live our lives and in our identity so this often forms an important part of the first meeting.
• How you are Currently Affected by the Issues:
  Often the issues that bring us to therapy affect us across a wide range of areas. The therapist will seek to understand whether there are other symptoms of the issue that brought you in – for example work difficulties. The therapist wants to understand you such that he or she can help you to create solutions to your problems. A therapist will sometimes make diagnosis part of the process, helping to create a path to the resolution of your issues.

Tips for a Successful First Therapy Appointment

Therapy is effective when it is a joint effort. Put simply, you need to participate for it to work for you. Coming to your initial appointment is the first step. Here are some personal pointers to make the first session a success:

• Be Open: Share your thoughts and feelings honestly.
  Although therapists are well-practiced in asking the right questions, it can sometimes be difficult or feel awkward to reply. It helps to be as open as you feel comfortable with.
• State any Fears: Inquire about the therapy process and express any concerns.
  If you have any concerns about the counselling process it is very helpful to let the therapist know as they can then answer them for you. The more that you understand the process, the more helpful it tends to be.
• Set Realistic Expectations: Understand that progress may take time and effort.
• Expect Difficult Feelings and Thoughts:
  Although the first session may bring up many difficult or even upsetting thoughts, it is helpful to share your feelings and reactions with the therapist. This helps both therapist and you to progress.
  

Building Trust: The Therapeutic Relationship

A successful therapy experience relies on a strong therapeutic alliance. Open communication, mutual respect, and collaboration are key components. Your therapist will work with you to create a safe and supportive environment.

After My First Counselling Session: What Next?

Following the initial meeting, you’ll continue to work with your therapist to delve deeper into your concerns. Sessions may involve developing coping strategies, exploring patterns, and working toward your identified goals. In further sessions, you may explore specific symptoms, past traumas or issues which you have previously highlighted. Try to be realistic in your expectations: therapy is rarely a “quick fix” – although this can happen. It is perhaps more helpful to think of it as a “process” through which the therapist will help you to move from difficult or stormy waters into a better place. It is useful to think of the process as effortful but one that, with a strong relationship with the therapist, will help you to resolve your issues.

How Many Sessions?

Therapy usually requires multiple visits, so it is unlikely that you will get an instant resolution on the first or second session. It is helpful to think of therapy as something which provides long-lasting solutions to improve your life. Speak with the Therapist again once you have had a small number of issues.

Ultimately, Starting Counselling is about finding a path towards healing and personal growth.

First Counselling Appointment: Key Takeaways

• Therapy is a collaborative process aimed at personal growth.
• Building a trusting relationship with your therapist is essential.
• Progress may be gradual; patience and commitment are important.

Ready to Begin Therapy?

Starting counselling can be a pivotal moment in your life, providing the support and guidance needed to navigate challenges. Although taking the first step toward therapy is a wise decision, it can also feel like a courageous one. In order to heal, we must decide to share, which can initially make you feel more vulnerable.

For more details and self-help guides see below or refer to our main website page. Please note that these references and self-help guides an intended as supplemental resources and should not be seen as replacements for professional diagnosis or treatment. Consulting a mental health professional is recommended for a comprehensive assessment and tailored treatment plan.

email:counsellor@counselling-newcastle.co.uk

Resources and Self-Help

• NHS Inform. (2025). Self-help therapies. Retrieved from https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/mental-wellbeing/therapy-and-counselling/self-help-therapies A guide to counselling and therapy with useful resources
• Gratitude handout (pdf). Journaling has been long established as a useful way of feeling more positive about self. Take time out to get into a new journaling habit using this free gratitude journal which you can download –gratitude journal
•  Don’t Believe Everything You Think (Expanded Edition): Why Your Thinking Is The Beginning & End Of Suffering. (Nguyen, 2004). This is really quite a helpful read if you are a thinker or worrier.