5 key Ingredients for a Successful First Client Session
Aug 26, 2024
You've done the hard yards with your marketing, you're building word of mouth and a new client finds you! Drawing on courage they book in and show up for their session. There is a lot riding on these first few moments. It's natural for them to wonder if you will be right for them, or whether they can trust you? In a first ever session, we are dealing with people's initial fears and uncertainty and to some extent our own. Let’s face it, starting anything new can feel daunting. Meeting someone new takes courage.
When we enter the therapy space, new beginnings often feel even more loaded.
So what should we aim for in that first ever session with a brand new client? Knowing what to focus on is so important in order to gain trust and help them feel committed to begin their therapy journey.
In building my practice, I’m grateful to say it was rare for a new client not to re-book and I’d like to share my recipe for success aimed at helping clients feel secure in our first ever session with them.
Here’s what’s worked for me.
Firstly I begin with reminding myself of the courage it’s taken for this person to show up.
My recipe includes 5 key ingredients each grown from the realisation that:-
- change is hard,
and
- starting something new, with someone new is often scary and unsettling.
MAGIC INGREDIENTS LIST:
#1: Welcoming them into the space (physically and energetically). This happens not just with the words we say such as ‘welcome!’ But also by our actions, how we meet them at the door, bring them into the room and offer someone a chair. Or if working online, by welcoming them into the session, having an inviting backdrop or Temenos behind me. I want this person to feel genuinely welcome, that I am truly interested in them and they have my full attention.
#2: Creating safety and reassurance. I do this through letting a person know what they share is confidential but also through grounding myself. I take time before they arrive to breathe and connect inwards. If I feel calm, safe and open, it encourages them to feel this too.
#3: Establish connection through understanding and reflection. I use tools such as taking time with the intake form to further explore anything important they’ve listed and I repeat their key words or phrases back to them. I do this in an open, curious and interested way and I ask if I’ve understood them correctly. This helps a person feel seen & heard by me and also themselves.
By not filling every space in the session with talking, we create room for contemplation & reflection. I pay close attention to the energetics by tuning into what is not said and the feeling-tone that’s unfolding between us.
#4: Maintaining a professional approach to build trust. I dress in a professional manner and ensure the space is clean, comfortable and well organised. I may offer some insights into what a client says yet my focus is on acknowledging any knowing, strength or wisdom a person shares with me.
# 5: Establish a pathway forward. Towards the end of our session, I ask the client how they feel about us working together? Doing so, helps clarify expectations – theirs and mine – and secures commitment. Even if it’s simply booking their next session.
I typically end the session by asking ‘what has most stood out for you from our time together today?’ This solidifies their insights and is a reminder of the value of us working together.
In essence, my aim for a first ever session rests in creating a ‘feeling space,’ – one that’s filled with safety, warmth and connection – not a ‘doing space.’
The outcome and alchemy of these simple, magical ingredients is that, from this first important session, we can transform fear of change and uncertainly into hope and opportunity. We’re ready and even excited to step out of the therapeutic path together!
