Gessica Searles

For our first session, it is about building rapport; getting to know each other through icebreakers, games and different activities especially for children and teens. I want to hear from you what your goals are for therapy and what you would like to focus on. It is part of building that foundation. I will also explain the flow of sessions so you know what to expect.

Typically I do, but it is always based on what is learned or talked about in session and I want the client to part of coming up with the homework or practice they want to do between sessions.

I try to communicate with parents as often as I can. Typically it is either right before sessions, or right after sessions. I also will send check in messages in between sessions where parents can share the progress they are noticing or things they want the client to focus on more. Feedback is everything and we are a team.

I explain to them what confidentiality is while also expressing to them the 4 exceptions to that confidentiality which is: "if someone is hurting them, if they want to hurt someone, if they want to hurt themselves, or if they give me permission to share it with a trusted adult if it falls outside of the first 3". I also explain to them the reason behind breaking confidentiality is out of care and concern not to get them in trouble.

Sometimes it does take time to open up, I let them know that we can go at their pace and we start off little by little. Allowing them to guide the conversation with what they are comfortable sharing and when appropriate and necessary demonstrating being open with them as well.

It depends on the age. Typically for the younger children I keep it between 30 to 45 minutes where for the first part of the session it is guided by me, while the last part of the session they get to be in charge of the session. For the older teens and adults it is typically 55 to 60 minutes.

I love to get feedback through self-reporting and depending on the specific reasoning for therapy, I also have parents or individuals pick at least 3 target behaviors or goals and rate them on a scale of 1 to 10 each week. Giving the reminder that growth takes time and it is not about perfection but about progress. This will give a view on how therapy is going and how you feel it is going.

We look together at the goals mentioned at the start of therapy, and see how close we are to achieving those goals as well as how confident you feel about achieving them. Then we decide how to decrease sessions, starting with going from weekly to biweekly and seeing how that feels, and then from biweekly to every 3 weeks and then to a month and checking in to see how that feels, until it gets to the point completing therapy.