Preparing For The First Session

The first session can undoubtedly bring nerves, and hopefully some excitement. Here’s a few tips to guide you as you enter into counselling.

1. Make your appointment. You have already made a huge step in deciding to come to counselling, finding a counsellor that you are interested in working with, and now it is time to book your appointment. This is no small feat!

2. Get directions. Take a couple moments to figure out your commute to your appointment so you have less to worry about on the day-of! Don’t worry, once you are booked in we will send you our Arrival Guide to make your journey is as easy as possible.

3. Give yourself some extra time. Getting to your first appointment can often be the hardest part; giving yourself an extra 10 minutes to navigate through the commute can help to lower stress levels and make the whole experience a bit more pleasant for you!

   If possible, give yourself 10 minutes to decompress after your first session. You might want to grab a snack, some sunlight, listen to music, call your best friend, journal, or just sit quietly for a couple of minutes before rejoining your day.

4. Think about what you want to talk about. Taking a few minutes before your first session to think about your goals can be helpful. In our first session we will discuss why you are coming to therapy and what you want to get out of it. We do this because we know that therapy is an emotional and financial investment, so we want to make sure that you get the most out of our time together. Maybe there is something specific you want to talk about, or maybe you just feel a general need to come to counselling - either of these and anything in between is a-okay!

5. Go easy on yourself, this is a big step! Coming to therapy isn’t always easy, so be easy on yourself when any nerves come up. You’ve got this!

6. Reach out with questions. We are here to answer any questions you might have leading up to our first session. Feel free to reach out to erin@kits-counselling.com and we will be happy to support you in any way we can.