The first appointment is a psychological assessment appointment. I will ask what has been happening for you and find out more about about the history of how you have been feeling. I may ask you to fill in some questionnaires and I will tell you about how I work. At the end of the appointment we can decide together whether psychological therapy will be helpful for you and the kinds of approaches we might use together.
The length of therapy varies from individual to individual. Some people feel better very quickly and only need a few sessions. Other people need a longer approach where they can work on a range of issues over time. At the end of the assessment session we will agree some goals for the work and how many sessions I think you will need. We will also build in review sessions so we can think together about how the work is going, and whether we need to make any changes to the treatment plan.
We can meet on a weekly basis or less frequently, depending on what works for you. I often find that people like to meet more frequently for the initial sessions and then less frequently after they have got going. If we meet on a fortnightly basis, for example, it allows you to let the work of the session sink in and to try any new approaches we have discussed in the sessions.
Dr Katrina Lake Consultant Clinical Psychologist - working online from Inverness and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland
