The first session will be different to the ones that follow. It is a chance for you to tell me what brings you to counselling and what you hope to achieve during our time together; this will help me to get an idea of how life is for you right now. I may ask you questions about your personal history to help me understand the bigger picture so that I can offer you the right support. I would not expect anybody to recall every important detail straight away, so don’t worry if some things get missed or are hard to recall; I am sure they will come up if or when the time is right.

At the start of this session, I will talk you through the therapeutic agreement, which, if you are happy with, I will ask you to sign before our work commences. This agreement simply sets out what we are to expect of each other and helps to establish a level of trust that is crucial to successfully working together. I am more than happy to discuss anything that you may wish to add to the agreement if it is appropriate. What you think, really does matter to me.