by William Schroeder
Many people are coming to counseling for the first time and aren’t sure what to expect or maybe they are concerned it could be overwhelming. In our video below Andrew Willis Garcés, LPC lays out a very simple exercise to help you prepare for your first session. If you are concerned coming in to counseling could be overwhelming, it’s not a bad idea to break your story up into more manageable parts and start with the pieces that feel less flooding. This way it gives you the ability to build rapport with your therapist and allows you to see what the therapeutic process is like. Maybe some of the skills you learn from the smaller issues can help you deal with the bigger stuff too. Either way, it can help you to take that first step which is often times the most daunting.
A brief example. Let’s say I was coming into counseling and when I thought about everything that was bringing me into counseling, it included problems at work, a traumatic event that happened, some unresolved events from the past, and frequent fighting in a marriage — all of this can easily feel too overwhelming to go into. This isn’t to say therapists don’t want people to share what is bothering them, but rather to think about the piece that feels like the most pressing or most manageable to focus on. From there you and your therapists can build a plan to work on it and the other pieces over time while building your knowledge and skills.
Want help breaking it into smaller parts? Contact us to make a counseling appointment, as you can get a free consult. If you liked this post, you can also How to Find the Right Therapist and Affordable Counseling in Austin.
