I just completed a first session with a new client. I feel like it went pretty well, but I’m not sure how to tell. What should I think about before I see the client again next week?

Generally, we end a client session with a general feeling about how it went, as you did. It seemed like a good session, a great session, a terrible session or just okay. That general feeling is the combination of a number of factors which can be helpful to separate out. It is also important to integrate your feeling about the session with your thoughts about the clinical work and what you will do next.

Often our feeling about a client session, especially the first session, comes primarily from our experience of the therapeutic alliance. The therapeutic alliance refers to a shared feeling of working together toward the same goal. After the first session, we have a sense of whether the tone was collaborative, distant or adversarial and how easy or difficult it was to feel empathic and warm toward the client. We also get a sense of whether there were obstacles to the alliance which mean it will be more difficult to establish a sense of collaboration. When you feel the session went well, it can be helpful to think about the nature of the therapeutic alliance and how that contributes to your general feeling.

During the first session you probably got an idea of why the client is coming for treatment and learned some information about his or her life and history. You may find it useful to write down your client’s primary concerns, any safety issues that are present, and questions you want to follow up. This will help to organize your thoughts and identify areas to explore in subsequent sessions. Many clinicians feel a conflict between a desire to build rapport and an agency requirement to do an assessment and/or develop a treatment plan. However, one of the best ways to build rapport is to express your desire to understand the client’s life and goals, and this understanding is the basis for your assessment and treatment plan. You can provide focus and structure by combining empathic listening with sensitive questioning and summarizing comments. This is useful to clients whose lives are somewhat chaotic and unpredictable.

Identifying issues to discuss with your supervisor is also part of beginning treatment with a new client. You may have questions about the client’s symptoms and diagnosis, the appropriate unit or modality of treatment (seeing the client individually or as part of a family unit, referring for medication), safety concerns, or feelings that have arisen for you about or with the client. Even when you feel good about your first session and don’t have any pressing concerns, it is wise to mention the client to your supervisor so she/he is updated on your case load.

I hope some of these suggestions help you in preparing for early sessions when you are getting to know a new client. Please email me with comments, questions or suggestions for future blog topics.