What to Expect
You don't need to have it all figured out before you reach out. That's what therapy is for.
Reaching Out
This is Olive. She often joins me at the office, where she contributes mostly emotional support and naps.
You can reach out through my contact form, email, or phone. You don't need to send me your whole story. Just give me a general idea of who is looking for therapy and what's going on.
I'll get back to you with my availability, and if it sounds like I might be able to help, I'll send you some paperwork to complete before our first session. The paperwork gives me some helpful background ahead of time, so I do appreciate when it's filled out as thoroughly as you can.
The First Session
The first session is mostly about getting a good picture of what's going on.
The first session is mostly about getting a good picture of what's going on.
I'll want to hear what brought you in, what has been difficult lately, what you've already tried, and what you hope might be different. I'll probably ask a lot of questions because that's how I start putting the pieces together and understanding the bigger picture.
You don't need to have everything figured out before you come in, but it can be helpful to spend a little time thinking about what feels most important for me to know and what you'd like help with.
From there, we go where we need to go. Sometimes we'll spend time trying to understand why something keeps happening or where a pattern came from. Sometimes something happened yesterday and that's what we need to talk about. And sometimes we need to get really practical and figure out how to handle something differently.
I don't have a set formula that I use with everyone. As I get to know you, we'll figure out what seems helpful, what doesn't, and what we need to shift along the way.
You don't need to know exactly what you need from therapy before you start. We can figure that part out together.
If I'm Working With Your Teen
I want to hear from both of you.
Parents know their kids incredibly well, and teens also need a space where they can talk openly and feel like therapy is theirs. We'll talk about how to balance both of those things, including what stays private and when I would need to bring a parent into the conversation.
Parents aren't completely removed from the process. There may be times when it makes sense for us to check in, meet together, or talk about what might be helpful at home.
Ready to Reach Out?
If you'd like to see if we might be a good fit, feel free to get in touch.