Never been to counselling before? Anxious about what to expect from your first session? Worried that your expectations about therapy might not be met?

There’s a lot to think about if you have not had counselling before, and you may feel like you have a lot of unanswered questions before your first therapy session.

To start with, my recommendation is to always seek the support of a qualified professional who is a member of a relevant body, such as the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP). This ensures that your therapist is working ethically, and provides you with additional protection should anything go wrong.

It is worth remembering that the title ‘counsellor’ or ‘therapist’ isn’t protected, so in theory, anyone can call themselves this, so it’s definitely worth checking out the credentials before paying for any therapy. The BACP has a public register, for example, so you can search for the name of the counsellor to make sure they are a member.

There are a few websites that can bring up potentially relevant counsellors, either by distance, if you’re interested in face-to-face sessions, and/or by area of specialism, such as grief or relationship challenges.

These include:

• Counselling Directory
• Psychology Today
• Pear
• BACP Directory

There are then different modalities when it comes to therapy, including person-centered (part of Humanistic Counselling), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), integrative, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Transactional analysis (TA), Gestalt, solution-focused… the list goes on and can feel confusing.

The important part to think about is what do you feel you need. Do you have time in your life to commit to ‘homework’ in between sessions? Do you feel comfortable with the idea of ‘role play’ or talking to an empty chair?  Do you want solutions? Or do you want to just feel heard and work through your challenges gentle and at a pace you feel comfortable with?

Another factor to consider is your budget, the level of expertise you might need, available appointments, and whether you want sessions in person or remotely. These will all add another layer of hopefully either ruling potential therapists in or out of your top list to consider.

Many counsellors also offer free initial 10-minute introductory calls so that you can get a feel for them, ask any questions, and see how comfortable you feel talking to them. It’s a two-way street of course, and the therapist might feel they aren’t the right fit for you, but it’s this honesty that will help you to make the right choice when it comes to choosing the right counsellor for you.

Once you choose a therapist, and you find after the first few sessions that you don’t feel particularly connected them, you’re perfectly allowed to politely end the relationship and move on to a different counsellor – it’s vital that you have a good working relationship, so finding another therapist can prove more successful.

If you’re interested in working with me, feel free to use the online diary system on my website to book a free initial telephone consultation.