PREPARING FOR YOUR FIRST COUNSELLING SESSION WITH Robbie
Helpful information to better prepare you for counselling-related matters.
Think about what you want from therapy
Are you hoping a counselling psychologist can help you through a specific situation or stressful event? Or are you planning for it to be a long-term relationship? Do you want a place where you can vent, or do you want to learn techniques for dealing with anxiety?
It’s important to think about what you’d like to gain from therapy sessions so you can mention that from the get-go, and have an internal timeline for when you’ll feel like therapy’s accomplished its purpose.
Make a list of things you’d like to bring up in your first session
You don’t need to bring the list along with you (but you can if it’s helpful), it’s handy to have a clear idea of things you definitely want to discuss.
Go in ready to be open and honest
Go in ready to be completely upfront and honest. Yes, it’s scary. Yes, you might need to be a bit vulnerable. But that’s how it’ll end up helping.
Give Counselling at least a few tries
It does get easier, and the first session is often just about providing background info, finding out what your goals are for counselling, and a therapy plan going forward.
Don't be afraid to Ask questions
The more we engage together the better our chances of having a good therapeutic relationship. Feel free to ask me any questions, or if you have concerns, bring them up so we can address them. The therapeutic relationship is one that is very different to any other relationship, and I’ll be able to explain that in more detail.
PRACTICE BETWEEN SESSIONS
Counselling is a place to unlearn unhelpful behaviours and learn new ones. Use the time between sessions to put new behaviours to practice. You might also find it useful to maintain a journal to record your thoughts and keep track of progress.
GIVE FEEDBACK
The therapeutic relationship between the client and psychologist is based on mutual trust and openness. If something doesn’t seem to be working for you, please tell me about it. If you want more help with something or if a particular technique helps, let me know.
Join My Newsletter for Occasional Updates
About Me
I'm a Counselling Psychologist situated in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, in close proximity to the areas of Rosebank and Sandton.
I work with individuals, couples, and families to address current challenges with a solution-focused approach. These challenges may include some more common complaints such as depression, and anxiety, or those trying to come to terms with trauma or bereavement.
Contact Me
For a free telephone conversation (5 - 10 minutes) please call me on 074 588 3808. If I am unavailable, please leave your contact details, with the best time to call.
If you prefer you can contact me by email or use the form on the contact page to send me a message. I aim to respond to all messages within 24 hours.
Location
I am based in Parktown North, Johannesburg. To find out how to locate me, simply click on the map below.