Your First Visit

How Does Therapy Help?

Therapy can be a powerful resource for many people, depending on their unique needs and life circumstances. If you’re seeking support for a mental health condition, therapy can help you better understand and manage your symptoms, triggers, and emotional responses.

But you don’t need a diagnosis to benefit from therapy. Many people find that it strengthens their coping skills, introduces new perspectives, and supports them through life’s transitions and challenges. Therapy can offer a safe space to process difficult experiences, navigate change, and explore opportunities for personal growth— transforming what once

felt like obstacles into pathways toward healing and self-understanding.

Some specific skills therapy can provide are:

Building self-love, self-confidence, and self-esteem
Cultivating a more compassionate and empowered relationship with yourself.

Understanding and managing emotions
Including anger, jealousy, grief, depression, and other complex feelings.

Developing coping strategies
For navigating anxiety, fear, or avoidance in situations that have felt overwhelming in the past.

Learning stress-management techniques
To help you respond to life’s demands—whether at work, at home, or in relationships—with more ease and balance.

Improving relationships
Gaining tools to navigate romantic, platonic, and family dynamics with greater clarity and emotional insight.

Strengthening problem-solving skills
Especially in situations that once caused you to withdraw or freeze—such as public speaking or social interactions.

Enhancing communication and assertiveness
Improving your ability to listen, express your needs, and advocate for yourself with confidence.

Recognizing your strengths
Shifting focus away from your inner critic and toward your resilience, values, and personal power.

Addressing the root of your concerns
Whether it’s avoiding things that feel too hard to face, feeling disconnected from yourself, or a general sense of unease, we’ll work toward meaningful, lasting change.

Therapy is a highly personal process—there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Your treatment plan will be tailored to your unique needs, goals, and lived experience. Whether you’re navigating a mental health condition, moving through a life transition, or simply seeking space to reconnect with yourself, therapy can be a powerful step toward healing and growth.

What to expect on your first visit?

Your first therapy session serves two important purposes: to begin understanding your current challenges and goals, and to start building a foundation of trust and collaboration.

1. ASSESSING YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES

We'll begin by exploring the concerns that brought you to therapy. While my areas of expertise may align with what you’re seeking support for, your story is unique—and together, we’ll identify what’s most relevant to you in this season of your life.

We'll discuss your symptoms, patterns, personal history, and day-to-day context. From there, we can determine which therapeutic approaches might be most helpful, how to structure your treatment, and how to make it work with your schedule and lifestyle.

Image of a cappuccino and notebook and pen.

Therapy isn’t something that only happens in-session. You may be offered practices to try between sessions—whether that’s a grounding technique, a reflective exercise, or a book to read. Your active participation in this process is a powerful part of your healing.

2. BUILDING THE RELATIONSHIP

The first session is also a chance for us to get to know each other. I’ll ask questions about your current struggles, past experiences, and the bigger picture of your life—family, identity, work, relationships, and more. At the same time, I invite you to ask me questions, too. You deserve to feel safe, informed, and empowered in your care.

Therapy is most effective when it’s built on a strong therapeutic relationship—one that’s grounded in honesty, mutual respect, and trust. Research shows that the quality of the relationship between therapist and client is one of the most important predictors of meaningful outcomes.

While each relationship is unique, you can expect the following in our work together:

A space where your story is heard and your experiences are validated
Practical, evidence-based tools tailored to your specific needs
A supportive, confidential, and nonjudgmental environment
Strategies that promote real, lasting change
Gentle challenges to thought patterns that may be keeping you stuck
A relationship built on compassion, empathy, and respect

Your healing begins with showing up. From there, we’ll walk the path together—at your pace, with care and intention.

Yes—therapy is confidential.

As a general rule, everything you share in therapy stays between you and your therapist. Your privacy is protected by law, and no information can be shared without your written permission.

However, there are a few important legal exceptions where confidentiality must be broken to protect your safety or the safety of others. These are known as mandated reporting obligations, and they include:

Suspected abuse or neglect
If I become aware of abuse or neglect involving a child, dependent adult, or elder, I am legally required to report it to the appropriate authorities.

Threats of serious harm to others
If you express an intent to seriously harm or kill another person, I must take steps to warn the potential victim and notify law enforcement. This is known as a "duty to warn."

Risk of suicide or self-harm
If you disclose that you're planning to harm yourself and are unwilling or unable to stay safe, I may need to take additional steps—such as contacting emergency services or a crisis team—to ensure your safety.

These exceptions exist to protect people from immediate harm, and I’ll always do my best to involve you in the process whenever possible.

That’s why we’ll work together early in treatment to create a safety plan—a shared

understanding of how we’ll respond if difficult situations arise. The goal is to help you

feel supported, not surprised, should one of these rare situations come up.

Bloom in Shadow Counseling

How Does Therapy Help?

Some specific skills therapy can provide are:

What to expect on your first visit?

Your first therapy session serves two important purposes: to begin understanding your current challenges and goals, and to start building a foundation of trust and collaboration.

Is therapy confidential?

​Bloom in Shadow Counseling

How Does Therapy Help?

Some specific skills therapy can provide are:

What to expect on your first visit?

Your first therapy session serves two important purposes: to begin understanding your current challenges and goals, and to start building a foundation of trust and collaboration.

Is therapy confidential?

Bloom in Shadow Counseling