What is a consultation?
At New Moon Counselling, we offer all new clients a Free 30-minute consultation. This time is an opportunity to meet with one of our therapists, ask them any questions you may have, and see if you feel its a good fit to continue therapy with them.
Below are some ways you can prepare for your consultation.
How to prepare for your free consultation:
Know that it’s okay and totally normal to feel nervous about a consultation and/or entering therapy. Take some deep breaths and remember that this is your chance to discover whether you and the therapist are a good fit for each other.
Reflect upon and set your intention for the consultation. Do you have specific questions about the therapeutic process, generally, and the specific therapeutic modalities the therapist uses? Are you wanting to see how comfortable you feel with the therapist? Are you hoping for the therapist to ease some of your fears/anxieties about entering therapy with a new therapist? Setting your intention beforehand can you help you get what YOU want out of the consultation.
Understand the general purpose of a free consultation. You are of course welcome to briefly explain your reasons for seeking therapy and, if you decide to continue with therapy there will be plenty of opportunities to delve into that further in your therapy sessions. The purpose of the free consultation, though, is not to engage in therapy, but to provide a chance for you and the therapist to understand whether you would be a good fit for each other and to provide information about the therapist, their chosen modalities/approach, and the therapy process, overall.
Tune into yourself during and after the consultation. Do/did you feel comfortable and safe enough during the consultation? Do/did you feel like you could open up to this person over time? Does the therapist's approach resonate for you?
Remember that you get to decide if you want to continue working with this therapist or not. You are under no obligation to continue working with this therapist after the consultation if it doesn’t feel like a good fit. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to ease your decision-making process. We are always happy to refer you to another therapists that may better meet your needs.
Come prepared with a list of questions if you have anything specific you want answered. Feel free to ask anything you feel curious about!
Some common questions include:
How long have you been working as a therapist?
Which therapeutic modalities do you work with?
Do you have experience with... (eg. addictions, eating disorders, grief, gender dysphoria, anxiety, trauma, etc.)
What led you to become a therapist?
What does your therapy process look like?
How often would you anticipate seeing me? For how long?
What is a typical session like? How long are the sessions?
What kind of homework/reading do you give clients?
How can I prepare for my first session?
