I will begin by welcoming you into the therapy room where we will both sit on comfy chairs.  Your first appointment will last for about 50 minutes and I will ensure we finish on time so you can relax.  

I might take notes at our first session together as I need to gather some background information so I can be sure that I can help you with your particular issues.  This is also to comply with my professional guidelines.  If after the meeting I do not think I can help you, I will signpost you other sources of help and information that I think might be more useful to you.  

The sort of questions I ask will most likely be about your childhood, your family (if you have any), your current circumstances and any important relationships you have, or have had in the past.   If you have had previous therapy you might want to tell me about that too.  Most important of all,  I will want to hear about what brings you to therapy now.   

During the session you might feel like you want to laugh or cry; you are invited to explore your full range of emotions (or lack of them).   I will try my best to maintain a feeling of confidentiality and safety in the room.  There may be times when therapy feels very challenging for you.   I am sensitive to your vulnerable feelings which are usually a good sign that we can work well together.

Before your session ends we will discuss how it felt for you to be talking to me, and we can  then think about whether psychodynamic therapy would be helpful.  

You may want to come for just a few sessions or undertake a longer term treatment.   We can talk about this at your first session and depending on what brings you to therapy, agree what might work for you.   

Psychodynamic therapy requires regular weekly attendance, so it would be helpful if you could think about about the commitment of your time and money before we meet.