Initial Phone Call ​

 

The initial phone call can be very brief or may last a few minutes depending on your preference. The main goal is to schedule a time and place to meet and to agree upon the fee for the first session. I’m generally willing to accept whatever fee you can afford for the first session and will then work with you to find a reasonable fee moving forward.

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Beyond that, I will ask if there is anything you would like to tell me as background prior to our first session. Feel free to decline or to spend a few minutes telling me whatever you think would be helpful for me to know before we meet. 

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First Session​

 

There are three goals for the first session, and we may focus on one of those more than the other depending on your preference.

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Why Now?

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The first and most important goal is to understand what motivated you to begin therapy. We'll try to clarify what isn't working for you right now and start to formulate some tentative goals for the therapy. 

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A Brief History

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The second goal is to learn more about your background to help provide a context for the issues you are facing now. Some clients are more comfortable and some are less comfortable discussing this information during the first session. It's possible to touch on a few important points early on and perhaps get a more full picture of your background in later sessions. It's especially helpful for me to know if you saw a therapist in the past, if that was a positive or negative experience, and if you have any suggestions as to what kind of therapy works best for you. 

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Reviewing Policies​

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The last few minutes of the first session are reserved for reviewing policies related to session length, cancellations, and confidentiality. These are described more at length in the section "WORKING TOGETHER". 

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