Counseling Tool Guide
We all know that counseling is a necessary and ultimately rewarding and beneficial experience for many people… but it can be stressful and emotional in the process of working through those issues that brought you into treatment. Here are a few suggestions to help eliminate those “barriers” and to make your experience in counseling a smoother and more successful process!
Paperwork
-
At Fostering Hope, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to complete your opening paperwork! First, contact our office to schedule your free 15min consultation.
-
Please be prepared to provide your contact information and insurance details. Once you have scheduled an appointment you will be sent a welcome email to the client portal where you will set up your username and password. Just plug in your login information, fill out the forms and electronically sign, then you are good to go!
Get to know your Counselor
-
During your 15min consultation, take a few minutes to learn about your counselor.
-
I want you to feel comfortable with as much as possible right from the get-go and encourage all clients to review my biography prior to the initial session. This will provide an opportunity for you to familiarize yourself with my education, licensure, and experience.
-
Feel free to ask any questions that you still have at that time. I understand this is an important decision and encourage you to be as well informed as possible starting your journey with me!
Motivation
-
Only come in for counseling if YOU believe you need it!
-
Sometimes it takes another person, often someone that we trust and respect, to help us recognize the need for counseling. This is fine, and for many, necessary.
-
Don’t start counseling to pacify another person. If you don’t believe you have anything to fix you won’t be invested in fixing it!
Attitude
-
It is important that you have the right frame of mind coming into counseling.
-
If you believe it will fail before it has even started, it almost certainly will!
-
I understand that it can be scary and uncomfortable talking with a stranger about personal issues that you may not have even told your close inner circle about, but try to have an open mind and be a positive as you can.
-
I am a good person of good character, who genuinely cares and is committed to working with you to help you overcome those issues that brought you into treatment.
Attendance
-
After your initial session, we will decide how often you need to be coming in for treatment. This is dependent on a number of factors, most important of which is your clinical needs.
-
Regardless of whether you need to be in treatment three times a week or once a month it is critically important that you don’t miss your sessions. It is difficult to make progress toward your treatment goals if you are not in treatment!
Ownership
-
One of the biggest “make or break” issues in the counseling process for the majority of clients is their ability to take ownership and responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Don’t hold back!
-
As uncomfortable as it can be admitting you are wrong or sharing all those thoughts and feelings that you have kept inside for so long, clients almost always find it to be a liberating and relieving experience.
-
Take a risk. Trust me I will not judge you and it will significantly increase your chances of having a successful counseling experience.
