Questions to Ask During Your Therapy Consultation in Baltimore
Questions to ask in your consultation for therapy in Baltimore
How to get the most out of your therapy consultation
It's challenging to reach out when you’re struggling and can be especially difficult to imagine sharing with a stranger.
I recognize how hard it can be to mobilize your energy, do research and schedule a consultation. It’s important to make the most of these efforts and help you be effective during your consultation for therapy.
How to get yourself to schedule that consult
Many therapists offer free 15-20 minute consultations prior to starting services together. Consider how much you want to share during this time. How easy or comfortable is it for you to talk to someone about your personal struggles? What about when you’re sharing with a new person?
Some folks find relief in talking to someone outside of their personal life and for others this is a daunting task. If you can relate to the experience of the later, writing down your needs and goals and starting with a phone consult as opposed to video consult may be helpful. Consider the ways you can take care of yourself before and after the call.
How much do you share during your consultation for therapy?
Sometimes the therapist will prompt you to share a bit more about yourself. Some of us can talk about our problems and pain points with ease. Some of us are not practiced with sharing how we feel. Some of us deeply struggle to ask for help or may carry relational wounds that have us fundamentally question whether other people can meet our needs.
There is not a right or wrong way in how we show up during a therapy consultation. Ask yourself what information feels possible to share? What can you distill from your experiences that gets to the crux of what you are struggling with?
Is it easier to simply communicate a diagnosis? Or do you want to generalize your problem and the impact of your past? Is it best for you to talk about symptoms and plan to tell them more in an intake where there will be more time and space for you?
The therapy consultation is typically a short window of time that will not ‘feel’ like a full therapy session but gives you a sense of how this provider interprets your struggle and how they believe they can help.
What if I cry during my therapy consultation?
As a therapist, I believe this can be a real opportunity! Pay attention to how the therapist responds to your distress. While we’ve established a consultation is not therapy - this gives you a small taste of what it could be like to work with this provider.
Do they have an empathic response? Do they reflect back an insight or important piece of information? Do you have a sense that they really heard you and are trying to understand your experience?
All of this can give you information about how the therapist practices and what it could feel like in session with them.
What process questions to ask the therapist during your initial consultation:
Have you worked with clients struggling in the ways I’m struggling before? If so, what were their outcomes from therapy?
What does a typical session look like?
What does therapy feel like with you?
What can I expect from therapy with you?
How long does treatment typically last?
How can I tell therapy is working for me?
How will you receive feedback if something doesn’t feel right for me?
What type of therapy modalities do you use and how will they help me?
What frequency of sessions is recommended to be most effective for me to work towards my goals?
What logistics questions to ask the therapist during your initial consultation:
You’ve got a sense of if this person can help you. Now its time to consider logistics and if they match with your needs:
What is your availability? Be sure to share if you have schedule considerations.
What is the cost of treatment?
Are you able to offer in person? If so, where is your office located?
Are you able to offer virtual sessions?
If you believe this person can help you and these answers don’t match what you need, ask them for a referral. Do they know of another provider that practices in a similar way that they do and could help you?
Pay attention to your body!
Interoception is your sense that is aware of signals and information coming from the body. Examples might be muscle tension, heart rate, a hunger cue, lump in the throat, feeling warm, etc. This internal information can help inform how we’re experiencing a moment in time from a nervous system perspective.
How did you feel during the consultation? Do you have a sense this person understands you, your problems and can help you? Did you feel any hope during or after the conversation?
Additional important info you can share with your therapist during a consultation
If you like the therapist but feel uncertain about starting therapy, address your ambivalence.
If you’ve had a negative or ineffective experience with therapy let them know and see how they respond to and address these concerns.
This is another opportunity for them to demonstrate how they can attune to you and attempt to meet your needs!
Schedule your consultation for therapy!
If you're feeling overwhelmed after reading all this content and don't know where to begin give me a call at (443) 274-5495. I know it can feel like a big step to contact a therapist, but I’ll make it easy. We’ll spend 15-minutes on the phone or have a video consultation, I’ll answer your questions and I’ll let you know how or if I can help.
Ready to start your healing journey? Contact a trauma therapist in Baltimore today and discover how therapy can support you in overcoming your challenges.
