What to expect
It's good to talk!
Sometimes in life we just get overwhelmed - there might be many demands on our time and energy, difficulties with work, health and relationships, patterns of thinking and unpleasant emotions that interfere with our happiness. It can be a real struggle trying to hold it all together.
When we talk with someone it can help us onto the path of coping and living our life more fully. If you have never met with a Psychologist before, it's important to know what to expect at your first appointment.
When you arrive at our Brisbane Psychology Clinic
When you arrive for your appointment, our friendly reception team will welcome you as well as confirm you have completed your online intake forms. You'll then be invited to take a seat in our comfortable waiting room ready to meet your psychologist.
As Australian registered Psychologists, we are bound by a Code of Conduct that requires you are informed about and understand what will happen in your treatment with us. This also reassures you that therapy occurs in a confidential, respectful and mindful manner.
If you have been referred by your GP or another doctor, we will also discuss with you our communication process with GPs. We will always provide thoughtful and collaborative care.
What's next?
Your Psychologist will be genuinely interested to know what brings you in to see them, so they will probably start your session by asking you about your concerns and will try to gain an understanding of your current troubles. This usually means asking, "what brings you in today?"
As you talk, you will get a sense of how your Psychologist works and whether their approach is a good match with you. You can expect your Psychologist will be approachable, attentive, respectful, ask you questions and listen to your responses, be compassionate and knowledgeable as to how to help you to get where you want to be.
The session will proceed with your Psychologist asking you questions to help them better understand what is troubling you and to get to know you as a person. You can expect that we will ask you about important parts of your life, such as relationships, family, interests, work, schooling, your supports, beliefs, strengths, hopes and dreams, as well as discussing how you have coped with difficult times in the past. We will also ask if you have had any thoughts of suicide or harming yourself.
We may also ask you to complete some brief forms to provide us with a baseline measure of your mood. We will want to know what your wellbeing goals are and how you might know when you have achieved your goals.
We want to get to know YOU!
In your first session, we want to get to know YOU, not just focus on the things that are troubling you. We will offer you some ideas and suggestions on how things might be able to be different and offer some guidance on how you may be able to change things or how things could be improved. We may even give you some tasks to try before you return.
By the end of your first session
By the end of your first session, you and your Psychologist will have a clearer sense of:
what's worrying you
what you want from therapy and
how we can work together to achieve change and plan for improvement.
Appointment reminder service
We will call or text you to remind you about your appointment and check to see if you have any questions or concerns prior to your first appointment. Please take this opportunity to talk with our staff to allay any concerns you might have prior to coming to your initial appointment.
We also provide an appointment reminder service, either calling or texting you a day or two before your appointment. We would appreciate you responding to these reminders to confirm your attendance at your appointment. If you are unable to keep your appointment, this is also an opportunity to advise our staff and reschedule. From time to time, as a courtesy, we will also contact you if we are able to offer you an earlier appointment.
Please ensure you have an appointment reminder in your phone, calendar or diary to remind you of your scheduled appointment. In the event of any technical difficulties or service outages where we are unable to contact you, it is your responsibility to know when your appointment is scheduled and to attend your appointment. We want to be able to provide you with good psychological care, however, if you fail to attend your appointment, there may be a non-attendance fee.
