What to Expect in a Session

• A session will consist of a provider engaging the client in a discussion about their life and struggles they have experienced or are currently having.
• Everything you say in my office will never leave this office; it is entirely confidential. (There are a few legally mandated exceptions, such as if you are actively threatening yourself or others or child and elder abuse)
• Audio may be recorded during your session for personal note-taking purposes only. This allows our staff to be more present in the session and avoid staring at the computer to take notes while you are talking. It also ensures that no detail is missed and nothing falls through the cracks, ensuring high-quality, accurate, and effective care.
• You will never receive any judgment from our team. Nothing you say and no experience you’ve had will make our team think less of you. We promise that you are not alone. We promise that others have had similar experiences and recovered from them. You can get better no matter the severity of your illness; there is always hope.
• Some questions in our conversations may cause a significant emotional reaction. THIS IS OK! Do not hold back your emotions or experiences. Feeling them and processing them is necessary for treatment. Avoiding these uncomfortable thoughts and feelings by diluting or omitting them will reduce treatment efficacy. Also, lying or intentionally leaving out information will make progress more difficult and slower to obtain.
• You may receive a psychiatric diagnosis; you may not. Not all problems have a diagnosis to label them. That does not mean you will not receive treatment, nor that the issue does not need treatment.
• Any diagnosis a provider makes is created from the information shared in your session(s), and more information may reinforce or rule out a diagnosis. A psychiatric diagnosis is more of a “collection of symptoms” abbreviated into a short, standardized phrase that other professionals will understand rather than a true or false presence of a condition.

How treatment works

• You are in control of your treatment. The more effort you put into it, the more effective it will be. No effort = No effect.
• After a provider has made a diagnosis or has enough information about your struggle, they will help direct the evidence-based treatment options and referrals to other services as appropriate. The treatment is about YOU and what YOU WANT, not what we think you should do or what we would do in your situation. It is also important to note that medications do not affect every individual in the same way. Something that works wonders for one person may not work for another, and vice versa. Therefore, we may need to try multiple medications and treatment options to find your best fit. Mental health treatment is a process, not an overnight fix; it likely took years or decades to develop your condition, and it’ll probably take more than an hour to resolve it.
• Follow-up appointments are necessary to monitor for side effects (if taking medication), determine how well the treatment is working, and continue treatment options such as psychotherapy. Often, if things are going well and you have few side effects, no change in treatment is made in the follow-up appointment. However, scheduling and having a follow-up appointment is still essential to ensure treatment STAYS effective and to avoid waiting for an appointment if there is no available time slot. A follow-up also allows the provider to assess your response to treatment from an outside perspective and see things you may not be able to.