{"id":862705,"date":"2026-08-18T16:20:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T16:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/862705\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T16:20:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T16:20:18","slug":"what-to-expect-for-your-first-therapy-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/862705\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Expect For Your First Therapy Session"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen you think about it, therapy is a bit of an odd proposition.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Collin Vernay, a licensed psychologist based in Washington, D.C., told HuffPost when asked what a first therapy session is really like. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt involves two strangers meeting to discuss some of the most intimate, vulnerable and raw details of someone\u2019s life,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Over the past few years, more Americans have reported<\/a> having poor mental health. As people start therapy for the first time, many walk into these offices without any real sense of what to expect or how they\u2019re supposed to act.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what therapists want people to know. <\/p>\n

Crying \u2014 or not \u2014 is normal either way. <\/p>\n

There is no concrete list of how patients should behave when meeting a therapist for the first time. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no \u2018normal,\u2019\u201d Krista Jordan, a psychotherapist in Texas, told HuffPost. \u201cIt depends a lot on whether or not people have done therapy before.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first session helps establish a relationship between a therapist and a client. By sharing what brings them in, the client can help the therapist begin to shape what they need to focus on in early sessions. The client can then determine whether they want to trust the therapist and want to keep meeting to talk about more.<\/p>\n

\u201cA therapist is not expecting you to cry or not to cry when first meeting, nor will they force you into feelings that are too intense or overwhelming to feel just yet,\u201d Vernay said. <\/p>\n

\"Don\u2019t<\/p>\n

Creative Images Lab via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t put any expectations on yourself for how free you\u2019ll be with your emotions.<\/p>\n

Some people are surprised by how quickly their emotions surface. \u201cSometimes recalling the painful or traumatic reasons for beginning therapy can lead to feelings of sadness, discomfort, anxiety or crying,\u201d Vernay said. <\/p>\n

But others may feel flat, and that\u2019s just as normal as crying. \u201cThese early meetings may feel more matter-of-fact as we\u2019re warming up to each other,\u201d Vernay said. \u201cIt\u2019s natural when first meeting a therapist to feel a bit nervous or awkward, and the goal of a good therapist is usually to put newcomers at ease.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way to know if a person will cry or not cry in the first two sessions,\u201d Jordan said. \u201cPatients tell me they surprise themselves.\u201d <\/p>\n

It can take a few sessions to feel at ease. <\/p>\n

Feeling like you\u2019re still sizing each other up after the first meeting doesn\u2019t mean something is wrong. <\/p>\n

Psychologists Arthur Bohart and Amy Greaves Wade argue in \u201cThe Client in Psychotherapy\u201d<\/a> that the relationship between a therapist and their client tends to solidify around the fifth meeting. <\/p>\n

This timeline coincides with another factor that patients have to keep in mind: They need to actively engage with what the therapist advises and offers them, Bohart and Wade found. Therapy isn\u2019t magic; the patient also has to put in work for the process to be effective. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s normal to feel a variety of feelings when first starting therapy, and my general advice would be to stick with it for at least a few sessions before deciding whether or not a therapist is right for you,\u201d Vernay said. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s fine if you want to switch therapists.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, it\u2019s just not a match. <\/p>\n

What feels off at first \u2014 that awkwardness, the nerves, that slow build of trusting the therapist \u2014 will fade as the relationship develops. \u201cAt its best, that initial nervousness melts with time into a deep trust and abiding care, feelings that are part and parcel of what makes therapy so transformative,\u201d Vernay said. <\/p>\n

Exactly how long it takes varies by therapist. Jordan told HuffPost she encourages patients to give therapists around six to eight visits before deciding whether the therapist is the right \u201cfit\u201d for them.<\/p>\n

There is one exception, though \u2014 sticking around for about a year and then suddenly wanting out can mean something different. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would be concerned that maybe the therapist is starting to push you a bit (in a good way) or maybe you are getting into topics that feel uncomfortable (but are necessary),\u201d Jordan said. \u201cIn that case, the desire to quit starts to look like what we call \u2018resistance,\u2019 which is the patient\u2019s unconscious mind trying to sabotage the therapy [because it\u2019s uncomfortable].\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWhen you think about it, therapy is a bit of an odd proposition.\u201d That\u2019s what Collin Vernay, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394,8680,19970],"class_list":["post-862705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-psychology","tag-therapy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}