I’m nervous about starting therapy. Is that normal?

Therapy can be vulnerable and new, so it’s natural to be nervous. It can be hard to feel trusting of someone new, especially if you've had past negative experiences in therapy. I'm committed to earning your trust and will always support you in finding a pacing for your healing process that works for you. The fear around that can feel overwhelming. Taking steps to seek help for the challenges we face is a huge step. It takes courage to realize we can’t face our issues alone.

Therapy is a space where you can be yourself and come just as you are, including feeling nervous. I’m committed to finding a way to care for your nervousness and ensure sessions are as comfortable as possible.

I’m here if you want to talk about it during a free phone consultation.

How do I know if you are the right therapist for me?

Take your time to read through my website. If you sense that I may be a good fit based on what you are reading, you can reach out to schedule a consultation (via the contact form, or directly via e-mail by contacting zelda@dreambeyondshame.com)

During a free phone consultation, you can ask me about how I have helped other people like you before, what a typical session with me is like, or any other questions you may have that are specific-to-you. You’ll also be able to share what’s going on for you and we can determine how I could best be of service to you.

It may be helpful to think of the first few sessions as trying out the waters together. During the sessions, you’ll be able to start seeing what it's like. My approach is not going to work for everyone. What’s most important to me is that you find someone who you feel is the right fit for you. We can explore that together.

What if I don't want to talk about something?

It’s normal if you don’t feel ready to share everything. During our sessions, it will always be up to you if you feel ready to talk about something or not. We will collaborate on understanding what you feel ready to open up about. Together we will work through the difficult stuff.

You can also share with me that you are nervous to open up about something and we can talk about that too. Whatever is present for you. Whatever you are going through. Bring that to session and we can explore that together.

I’m scared that if I open up, you will think I’m crazy.

This is one of the huge benefits of having a neurodivergent therapist! I know firsthand how scary it is to share the depths of your inner world with others. One of the huge benefits of therapy is that shame thrives in the dark, growing more powerful as it’s hidden away.

Once we share our burdens with another, especially a skilled helping professional like a therapist/coach, they can become more lighter, manageable, and tolerable. I’m here to support you with whatever burden you’ve been carrying.

You're not being dramatic or "too much." Nothing you can say will cause me to judge you.

I know we all have our imperfections, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, we may have normal reactions to abnormally challenging experiences.

Whatever it is you're going through, I provide a safe space where you can feel heard and supported without judgement.

Does what we talk about in therapy remain confidential?

It can be concerning feeling like things you say or do in therapy could "get out." So I want you to know that unless there is an imminent danger to yourself or someone else, everything you share with me is completely confidential.

I highly respect your privacy and value your trust.

You can rest assured that you can talk about anything without fear of that information getting out.

If you have specific questions about how confidentiality works, you can ask during your during a free phone consultation or anytime during our work together.

How long will therapy take?

You might be asking about how long therapy will take because you are currently struggling and want relief fast.

If this is true for you, I want you to know that, on average, my new clients start seeing improvements after the first 6ish months.

By that point, they often feel like they have learned some ways to manage challenging stuff in their lives a bit better.

The total duration of therapy varies from client to client. Some of my clients find 6-12 months to be enough to develop greater self-awareness and learn actionable skills for being in right relationship with self/other. While other clients feel more supported by longer-term therapy.

As a neurodivergent therapist, I make sure to walk the talk as well! I am in long-term therapy (as well as continuing education, supervision, and consultation) that supports me in showing up for my clients & my life as my most authentic, loving, embodied and aligned self. I cherish that long-term relational support and love to provide that to others when they want it. This is one of the reasons that I often extend sliding scale spots to long-term clients who go through financial hardship - because it is important to me that our relationship stays rooted in sacred reciprocity, especially when that relationship has to exist within the conditions of material exchange.

Having said that, my commitment to you is to keep therapy/coaching feeling effective, useful, and supportive for you as long as we work together. I engage in consistent assessment/evaluation to make sure that our work continues to feel like a beneficial use of your resources (time, money, energy, etc), as well as requesting that you let me know when you have feedback that I can implement to better support you!

The bottom line? Whether it is shorter or longer-term, we will work together to find the length of time that works for you.

What can I expect during the initial consultation appointment?

Overall, you can think of the initial consult as a semi-structured conversation through which we start getting to know each other. I’ll invite you to share more about yourself and we can also talk about what’s worked or not worked for your mental health in the past.

Some questions that I like to ask during a first session include:

• What brought you to therapy?

• What goals would you like to reach by going to therapy?

• What do I need to know about you to understand your current challenges?

You can ask me questions as well. You might be curious about about my experice or how future sessions work.

The most important part of the initial consultation is that you see if you feel I’m a good fit for you and that I feel confident that I’m able to support you with my current skill-set and expertise.

If you feel valued, accepted, and inspired with me, we can discuss if you’d like to meet again.

How can I get started?

I'm here to talk during a free phone consultation where you can share what’s going on for you and we can determine how I could best be of service to you.

Reach out today to schedule your initial consult and to find out more about working together.