What to expect: A Step-By-Step Guide to Starting Therapy

Starting therapy can feel overwhelming—especially if you don’t know what to expect. Whether you’re seeking support for anxiety, trauma, life transitions, or emotional regulation, the therapy process is designed to meet you where you are and help you grow in a way that feels safe and sustainable.

Here’s what the journey typically looks like when you work with me:

Step 1: The Consultation Call – Finding the Right Fit

Therapy is a deeply personal experience, and the relationship between you and your therapist is one of the most important factors in success. That’s why we start with a free 15-minute consultation call.

This call is a chance for us to:

• Discuss what’s bringing you to therapy

• Answer any questions you have about my approach

• Determine if we’re a good fit

• Talk about scheduling and fees.

If we both feel like working together would be a good match, we’ll move forward with scheduling your first session.

Step 2: The Intake Session – Getting to Know You

Your first session is called the intake session, and it’s all about understanding your story. We’ll talk about what’s been going on in your life, your past experiences, and what you’re hoping to gain from therapy.

To help guide our work together, I’ll ask questions like:

• What has led you to seek therapy at this time?

• Have you been in therapy before? If so, what was helpful (or not helpful)?

• What emotions or struggles are impacting your daily life the most?

• What do you want to work on in therapy?

There’s no pressure to have all the answers—this is a safe space to explore what’s coming up for you. From here, we’ll start shaping a plan for your therapy journey.

Step 3: Developing a Plan & Setting Goals

Therapy is not one-size-fits-all—it’s tailored to your needs. After your intake, we’ll discuss the best approach for your personal healing and growth.

Your therapy plan may include:

• Psychodynamic Exploration – If past experiences and patterns are impacting your present, we may spend time unpacking your history to gain insight into how it shapes your thoughts, emotions, and relationships.

• Skills Training (DBT, CBT, & Emotion Regulation) – If you’re struggling with anxiety, distress tolerance, or emotional regulation, we may focus on building practical tools to help you navigate day-to-day challenges.

• Polyvagal & Nervous System Work – If you feel constantly on edge, shut down, or stuck in fight-or-flight, we may focus on regulating your nervous system so you can feel safer and more present in your body.

• Processing Trauma – If past wounds are still affecting your daily life, we may focus on trauma processing and nervous system healing to help you find relief and freedom.

We’ll also determine how often we should meet. Weekly sessions are common at the start, but we can adjust frequency based on your needs and goals.

Step 4: Ongoing Sessions & Growth

After intake, therapy becomes an evolving process based on your goals. Each session may look different depending on what you need that day—whether it’s deep reflection, skills-building, or simply having a space to process emotions.

Throughout our work together, we’ll:

• Check in on your progress and adjust our approach if needed.

• Explore new challenges as they arise—because healing is not linear.

• Celebrate growth and wins (even the small ones, because they matter!).

Therapy is a space that adapts to you. Some weeks may feel transformational, others may feel like maintenance, and both are valuable parts of the journey.

Ready to Get Started?

If you’ve been thinking about therapy, this is your invitation to take the first step. Reach out today for a free consultation call, and let’s see if we’re the right fit. You don’t have to do this alone—I’d be honored to walk this journey with you.