What Happens in Therapy?
If you’ve never been to therapy before, it’s natural to wonder what actually happens in a session. While every person’s journey is unique, therapy is ultimately a safe space to explore your thoughts, feelings, and experiences with the support of a trained professional.
In our work together, we’ll begin by identifying your goals—what you’d like to change, heal, or better understand. From there, sessions often include talking through challenges, learning new coping tools, and practicing strategies to manage stress, emotions, or difficult situations.
Depending on your needs, I may integrate approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), mindfulness practices, or breathwork. Sometimes therapy looks like structured skill-building, and other times it’s simply having a compassionate space to process what you’re going through.
At its heart, therapy is about connection, understanding, and growth. It’s a place where you don’t have to carry your struggles alone and where healing and growth happen step by step.
What to Expect in Your First Therapy Session
The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.
Starting therapy can feel both hopeful and a little intimidating—you may not know what to expect. The first meeting, often called the intake session, is all about setting the foundation for our work together.
During this session, we’ll begin by talking through what brings you to therapy and what you’d like to get out of it. You’ll have the chance to share your story at your own pace—there’s no pressure to cover everything at once. I’ll ask some questions about your history, current challenges, and goals so I can better understand how to best support your journey.
We’ll also go over practical things like scheduling, confidentiality, and what the therapy process looks like. This is a time for you to ask questions, too—about me, my approach, or what therapy might feel like moving forward.
Most importantly, the intake session is about creating a safe, supportive space where you can begin to feel comfortable. Think of it as the first step in building a partnership focused on your healing and growth.
