What to expect from your first trauma counseling session in san francisco, california

It wasn’t easy to even believe deep down that you deserve to spend money and time to care for yourself. It was scary to think about talking to a stranger and asking for help.

Then, you came across the hurdle of actually making time for yourself and finding a therapist with the right fit to finally begin counseling.

You are now wondering what to expect!

What will happen after you decide to schedule?

You probably have reached out to WALTZ Trauma Care and Therapy for trauma therapy with online “telehealth” visits.

After you decide to schedule, you will receive an email from the secure, HIPAA-compliant client portal for an account registration and an intake packet to complete. This way, you can review the policy for counseling services and make an informed decision.

What do you need to do to prepare for the first counseling session?

Make sure you know where to join your therapist in the virtual space! Test out technologies like enabling your camera and microphone for video sessions. Charge your phone or laptop. Test out the connection between your headphone and your computer if you’re using one. And relax - find yourself in a private space where you can talk comfortably for 50 minutes. Grab a cup of water and a box of tissue just in case for an emotional session.

If your schedule changes and cannot make it, please let your therapist know as soon as possible. Reach out to them by email or phone and leave a message!

What happens in the first counseling session?

Your trauma therapist wants to learn about you!
Whether it is EMDR therapy or trauma therapy, it starts with an assessment or an evaluation of your symptoms and your history. This is to get an overall idea of what we are trying to address in therapy and to set a goal in agreement. It is also to be mindful of all factors that play a role in the issues. You will be asked to share about your work/school, symptoms, relevant recent experiences that brought you to therapy, family history, medical history, living situation, substance use, etc.

You do not have to bring up the details and explain all the trauma history if you are not ready or need more time to open up. It can be overwhelming and too much to hold if you are to talk about it all at once.

Your therapist may slow you down and reserve some of the topics of details in the follow up appointments.

For an EMDR therapy session, the assessment of memories to target can take additional sessions.

Will I have homework?

There’s no homework in typical therapy sessions. However, if there are specific short-term goals that you find helpful to set each week and check in with your therapist, you’re more than welcome to share these goals.

For EMDR sessions, you may build some coping skills in preparation. It is encouraged to continue to practice these skills in between the session so that they are readily available to you when you need some tools for managing difficult emotions and situations. You can also jot down things such as emotions, images, memories, dreams, and etc., coming up in between the EMDR sessions (especially after a reprocessing session) and share them with your therapist.

When will I have my next session?

Usually a follow up appointment is scheduled for the following week. It is recommended to keep ongoing weekly therapy sessions with your therapist.

What if I don’t like what happened in the first session or I am not sure it is a good match?

First, thank you for your honesty. The relationship with your therapist is fundamental to any type of work in therapy.

We are sorry for what happened. If it is something you are open to talk about, it is encouraged to directly communicate with your therapist. It is in our best interest to help you find the right therapist and direct you to the right resources. Sometimes, we figure it out by trying it out!

However, if you do not feel comfortable speaking with your therapist any longer, you can reach out to support@waltztherapy.com and share your feedback. We’d love to connect you with a different therapist who may be a better fit for you.

If you are still feeling stuck or don’t know where to start,

Feel free to call us at (415) 489-0258 for a free 15 minute phone consultation. We’d be happy to hear about what is happening and help direct you to the right person. If you are looking for help with childhood trauma, sexual trauma, and other types of complex trauma, you can read more about how I can help here.

Keywords: therapist san francisco, counselor san francisco, counseling san francisco, psychotherapy san francisco, finding a counselor in san francisco, EMDR therapy san francisco, trauma therapist san francisco