Your First Therapy Session: What to Expect
A practical guide to the first therapy session: paperwork, consent, fees, what you'll talk about, confidentiality, setting goals, and how to prepare.
What happens in a first session, how long therapy takes, online against in-person therapy, therapists in other states, and how confidential therapy is.
A practical guide to the first therapy session: paperwork, consent, fees, what you'll talk about, confidentiality, setting goals, and how to prepare.
How long therapy takes depends on your goals and the approach. Learn typical session length and frequency, short-term vs long-term therapy, and when to stop.
Compare online therapy and in-person therapy: privacy, technology, licensing, insurance and Medicare rules, and questions to ask before you start.
Licensing follows where you are, not where your therapist is. How PSYPACT, the Counseling Compact and state rules affect therapy across state lines.
What HIPAA covers in therapy, how psychotherapy notes differ from your record, when confidentiality has limits, and what to ask before your first session.