Some of us have seen a psychologist previously, some of us haven’t. Almost all of us have some preconceived ideas about “being in therapy” from movies, tv shows, jokes and all kinds of other sources out there in the wider world. Added to this, different psychologists employ different models of therapy and each therapist has their own unique style. So, what should we expect when engaging in therapy with Christina?
Starting Psychological Therapy.
Christina is a Clinical Psychologist, so she has expertise in assessment, diagnosis, formulation and treatment (see the FAQ section for more details about Clinical Psychologist and how they differ). Usually, Christina spends about 3 sessions talking with her clients about a range of different things. These include, but are not limited to the following:
- What caused you to reach out for therapy?
- What is troubling you the most at the moment?
- What previous experience you have had with counselling?
- If you have had previous therapy, what worked and what didn’t work so well?
- What are your current life circumstances: who do you live with, are you working and what do you do for work, what is your social network like and so on?
- What were your growing up years like?
- Have you had any significantly traumatic events in life.?
Most often, at some point in the initial sessions, in order for Christina and you to get a better understanding of what is troubling you, Christina will ask you to complete some questionnaires about how you are feeling and how you think about yourself and your circumstances.
It is often the case that by the time people reach out for therapy they are struggling a lot with their feeling and their circumstances. It is typical for Christina, in the first few sessions, to ask if you have thoughts of harming yourself (or killing yourself), if you have thoughts of hurting another person or others and if you believe you are at risk of being harmed by another person or other people. Although it might feel very strange to be asked these questions, it is important that Christina ask them in order to adequately assess your situation. If you are at risk of self-harm, harm to others or harm from others, you and Christina will discuss how to best keep you safe or, if needed how to keep others safe from you.
During this initial assessment period, Christina will be thinking about what is causing your mental health difficulties as well as what expertise she has to offer you in terms of working with you to address your difficulties. At the same time, you will be “feeling out” whether Christina, how she works and what she offers is a good fit for you from your perspective.
At the end of the assessment period you and Christina will identify your goals for therapy and Christina will recommend the mode of intervention that will best assist you meeting your therapy goals. Sometimes Christina assesses that a client’s goals are best addressed by another health practitioner or specialist and she will discuss these options with you.