Patient: I’ve never really been in therapy before. What do I really talk about? 

Therapist: You want to think about therapy as a kind of personal growth. Your first few sessions should be about identifying what’s the nature of your issue and how did you get to this place in your life. You might know what your symptoms are or what some of your challenges are, but the origins or the reasons you’re struggling are not always obvious. What’s your family history? What’s your background? What kind of life experiences have you had? Your therapist is going to help formulate why you are currently struggling in these issues the way you are now, and how can we really make sense of your symptoms in a way that’s gonna be actionable, that you could do something about.