We know that for a lot of people, seeing a counsellor for the first time can be a bit scary. You might be unsure of what to expect, worried about what others might think if they knew you saw a counsellor or feeling like you should be able to cope with this on your own. We understand that many people feel this way. We will work extra hard to show you that this process is much easier and more comfortable than you expect.

As for the concern about what others might think or that you should be able to cope with this yourself? We believe that seeking help is one of the bravest and wisest things we can do. It isn’t about weakness, but about having the strength to accept some kindness and support. Everyone experiences tough times (yes, that includes our counsellors!) and knowing what to do with that experience can empower you to get even better at looking after yourself.

We don’t care whether your problem is “big” or “small”-  all we need to know is that you have something that is important to you, that you want some help with. In fact, we love the idea that we can support people before their problems escalate to a really high level because it means that we can help you get back on track.

Time for your appointment!

At your first appointment, your psychologist or counsellor will bring you through to their office and give you a chance to get comfortable. They’ll introduce themselves and explain confidentiality and how therapy with them might look. They might get you to complete some questionnaires and will explain what these are and why they are being used. The most important thing they will do though in this first appointment is spend lots of time getting to know you (and for you to get to know them). They’ll ask questions about what you are interested in, what your strengths are, and about your background/growing up. We do this for two main reasons – we want to understand you as a whole person, not just the difficulty that you are facing. The other reason is that we will use your interests and strengths when we start planning out how we can best support you. The second important focus of the appointment is they will find out what brought you to see us. We’ll form a sense of what is going on together and begin to map out some next steps that we can take.

The appointment will wrap up at around 50mins and your psychologist or counsellor will ask you for some feedback about how you found it. This is a genuine request – we want to know what was good and what wasn’t so good so that we can make this the best fit for you! 

Your psychologist will take you out to the admin desk and collect any additional information they need (e.g. medicare card details) as we all as take payment. You’ll get emailed a digital receipt, and if using medicare, we will put through the rebate for you