For many people, the most difficult part of therapy is making the first appointment. When you visit our office for that initial session, you'll feel welcome and at ease, but you have to call to schedule that intake appointment first. If worry about the unknown is preventing you from making the call to schedule an appointment with our Melbourne clinician, we want to help you feel prepared for this visit. In many ways, an intake appointment can help set the tone for your ongoing sessions, so it's important that you feel safe and comfortable. On this page, we will explain some of what you can expect during this intake session.
At your intake visit, there will be paperwork. This is how we gather the information we need to provide appropriate treatment plans. This may include medical insurance forms, new patient information forms, medications reviews, healthy history, and a variety of other basics. We are developing a picture of you as a whole person, and while some of the information we gather through paperwork is required legally, your counselor also needs to understand your physical and mental health backgrounds to develop a good therapy plan.
During this initial session, your counselor is probably going to talk a lot more than they will usually. We are developing a rapport with you, but we are also helping you to feel a little more relaxed and open in our office. Every therapy session will likely look like a simple conversation, but at this first visit, we will have a lot more questions for you. We may also take some time to explain our education and training, especially if we're recommending a specific therapy technique that may be unfamiliar to you. Your clinician is also happy to answer your questions. If you're currently taking medications, your counselor will talk to you about how they're working. We will also be assessing your situation to ensure you are safe. If you are having struggles with thoughts of self-harm, harming others, or you're in danger of harm from someone, we will work with you to develop a safety plan. The main goal is to ensure we have done everything we can to establish a safe, effective plan.
You should have some goals at this first meeting too. We encourage you to ask as many questions as you need to. In some cases, your questions and concerns at this first visit can be addressed by the counselor shifting their perspective to better match your needs, but you should always express concerns you have about working with a specific counselor. If we're unable to address these concerns, our team can often help you find a counselor who's a better fit. Some counselors and clients are not a good fit. It's always best to recognize this early in the process and switch to a clinician who can help you.
In addition to determining whether or not your counselor is a good fit, you should use the intake session to let our team know about any goals you have. Do you want to work through a traumatic event? Struggling with stress at work? Have difficulty setting boundaries? Let us know. This can guide our recommendations and therapy strategies, so we can help you achieve the results you want. In some cases, we may offer objective recommendations for aims that may be more beneficial, but we always do our best to help you meet your goals.
When you're ready to get started working with one of our Melbourne counselors, you can give the Prospering Hope Counseling team a call, email us, or complete our simple online contact form. We look forward to working with you to achieve all of your therapy goals. We are happy to provide individual, couples, family, and group therapy sessions in our office. Our counselors now offer teletherapy for online counseling sessions wherever you're most comfortable.
Phone: (870) 300-2112, Fax: (844) 377-1447
31 School Drive, Suite B, Melbourne, AR 72556