An initial couples session is usually either one hour or one hour and 15 minutes depending on your wishes, our scheduling and your finances. The purpose of this initial session is to assess your needs, and to meet your therapist and have all your questions answered about her practice. There is never any obligation beyond one session.
We all require 24 hours prior to cancel an appointment or we must charge you for a slot that cannot be used.
We do not offer free appointments for this session because it involves paperwork and our time. We are happy to answer quick questions by phone, email or text, depending on the preferred mode of contact by your therapist. Reading this article may help.
The content of the first session depends on your issues. We usually get a thorough history of your relationship, the reason you need help now, and answer any questions you might have. We also will explain your confidentiality rights. We prefer you both to hear everything at the same time in this first session.
Sometimes couples come in with an immediate crisis and we may need to suspend the history to do some negotiation about what will happen in the next week. We are all very flexible and will center on your need at that moment as much as possible. We strive very hard to make our office a safe and calm place for each of you to bring your thoughts and feelings. We are not here to judge your mind or behavior, only to point out the effect it may have on your partner. Hopefully, mutual empathy will lead to compromise.
Some typical kinds of methods we teach are active listening and responding techniques, empathy, respect of differences, identification of power struggles, family of origin exploration (not to assign blame but to understand why you react as you do), relaxation and anger management, non-reactive assertion of your decisions (differentiation), identification of unhealthy bonding patterns (i.e., mother-son), identification of any addictive process that may hamper the relationship, and creating a holding environment where you will both feel safe to be honest in order to find forgiveness and healing. In every session your therapist will facilitate healthy communication as you agree upon mutual goals and assess your progress regularly.
We include all couples in our work. The LGBT community is welcome at Wellspring. We work with couples in love, in committed relationships, those who are unsure of making any promises, and those in short or long term unions or marriages. Any two people who agree they want to work to improve their relationship. We also do therapy with folks who choose to end their relationship. Helping them grieve their loss and possibly soften the impact of that choice, especially on children, is a good goal. We have play therapists available to assist children in that transition. We also will work with clients to come to decisions about their separation if they can work together respectfully for the sake of their families. They can sometimes avoid costly litigation. We do not work with couples where it becomes apparent that one party is being abused and afraid to speak openly. Individual sessions with each person is the appropriate form of therapy in that case and we reserve the right to refer outside our group for any therapy for which we have not been trained.
After the first session we will give you some paperwork to fill out to take home with you. You may wish to discuss your experience at home and decide if you want to continue. If you are both sure at the end of the appointment, we can schedule another session before you leave. It is sometimes easier for everyone to come at the same day and time regularly, but we can be flexible in our scheduling if your job, daycare or circumstances require changing the day and time frequently. Scheduling ahead will give you the most choice of slots on your therapist’s calendar.
We kindly ask for payment of each session at the time of service. Please ask your therapist what form of payment she prefers in that first phone call (check, cash, credit card or insurance). Using a credit card may require a processing fee. We are all happy to try to work out a schedule of appointments that will fit your budget. No one can predict how long complicated matters will take to resolve, but we are happy to discuss your progress and goals at any time. You may decide to discontinue therapy whenever you choose as long as the 24 hr. notice is given. We all appreciate a last session to say goodbye and to wish you well. We are available to our former clients anytime a need arises as they go through all the stages of their lives. We service clients from 4 yrs old to the elderly and especially love to follow our families in their life journey as they attempt to live healthy lives. It is always a thrill to hear about our clients’ joys as well as their challenges.