28 Aug How might I feel after the first consultation?

After leaving our first meeting together you will feel ‘validated’ – the truth of your situation will be understood and accepted by another person independent of your family, friends, and significant others.  You will feel heard, believed, and perhaps unburdened for the first time in a long time.  Experiencing compassion in this way might encourage you to return for a follow-up appointment and then to engage with ongoing sessions as part of a process of therapy.

Contrasting this view, people sometimes talk of feeling overwhelmed, confused, ‘thrown’ and unsure about whether to return – that the work to get to a better or different place will be too hard, even though the majority of people do return.

Talking about difficult things for the first time can cause us to ‘retreat’, to ‘put things back in the box’, because they are just too distressing to confront.

“We always say to clients that you might leave feeling some discomfort and uncertainty – this is a normal reaction. We often reflect exceptionally about things that cause us to feel disquiet or unease”.

Generally, the feelings pass and you will return to make a further attempt at engaging with the therapy process.  If this doesn’t happen at the time, try not to worry.  It may be that ‘right now’ is not the ‘right time’ for you.  There will be other times that are ‘right’ and you might decide to make contact with us again.

We will still be here, unconditionally accepting of you, offering warmth and genuineness.