How To Pick A Therapist: The First Session – Your History

By the end of your first session with your new therapist you should have a feeling of renewed hope and a sense that the therapist can truly help you. Your first session should include taking your history. I believe that a therapist should take a complete history on his/her new client and document it so they can go back and read to it their client or to themselves to refresh their memory. When I take a client’s history I take two hours asking questions ranging from the current problem and goals to childhood memories and relationships. A complete history enables the therapist to step back and get a broad view of your experience and a peek at some of your core beliefs that have influenced you in your life. Taking your history is very important.