The First Appointment
In one-on-one therapy, the clinician will most likely begin with an assessment to determine one’s level of functioning and areas for treatment to target. A therapist’s interventions will likely be tailed to a person’s clinical needs.
The therapeutic relationship is one of the biggest predictors to a client’s success. It is important to seek out a therapist near you that you work well with. Therapists and counselors walk a fine line of supporting and challenging the people they serve to grow. This can be a very fine line and the quality of the therapeutic relationship is one of the key pieces that will build trust in this dynamic. If trust is not present, clients may be unwilling to engage in new behaviors or disengage from the therapeutic process entirely. Most local therapists or agencies will provide free consultations. In this call it is crucial for you, as a person seeking therapy services, to ask questions to clarify if the therapist you are speaking to can meet your needs.
Therapists are not all the same as each one has their own style, i.e. their levels of supportiveness, empathy, assertiveness and specialties offered. The questions you ask can rule out therapists that may not be a good fit for you.
Your therapist will determine the best path moving forward, many therapies exist to address a range of conditions including:
– Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
– Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
– Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
– Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
The Individual Therapy Journey
Therapy sessions can range greatly in the number of sessions.
– Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy can take between 12 – 20 sessions depending on the person and the challenges that are brought into the therapy setting.
– Therapy for depression, on the other hand, can range from 8 – 20 sessions depending on the severity of symptoms.
There is not a cut and dry number of sessions for any person or and every symptom presentation will vary; however, therapists should attempt to give all clients a Good Faith Estimate of the number of sessions needed to address a person’s needs.
If you are interested in a free 20-minute consultation please complete our Contact Form and we will get back to you within 24 business hours.
