What to Expect Your First Session

Beginning trauma therapy can feel overwhelming. Many people tell me they wonder what the very first session will look like. If you’re here, you don’t have to have all the answers, only curiosity about whether this work might help you feel safer and more connected to yourself.

We begin with a short intake. This includes gathering basic information like your name, address, and emergency contact. From there we move into what brings you in, your goals, and some of your history. During this time we are also getting to know one another.

Some people prefer to complete the intake form ahead of time so they can use the full 50 minutes to dive right into the work. If that feels right to you, you can download the intake form here, fill it out, and email it back to me before your session. Others prefer to complete the intake with me in session because it gives them a bridge into the conversation and helps ease some of the nervousness of beginning. Either way is welcome.

WHAT HAPPENS IN A FIRST TRAUMA THERAPY SESSION?

After the intake, we begin exploring what feels most important to you right now. You do not have to know exactly what to say, I will guide us. Some people start with pieces of their story. Others begin with how symptoms show up day to day, like anxiety, shutdown, feeling disconnected from the body, or struggling in relationships.

As you share, I pay attention to what happens in the moment. Your words matter, but so do the pauses, the shallow breaths, the way your shoulders tighten, or the way your body softens when it finally feels seen. This is how we begin to understand your nervous system and how it learned to protect you.

This is not about forcing you to relive the past. It is about helping you stay anchored in the present so your body and mind can loosen their grip on survival mode. From the very first session, we begin weaving in the Secure Self Framework™: Containment, Connection, and Clarity. This means beginning to listen to your body, practicing regulation that brings your cortex back online, and planting seeds of self compassion.

WHAT MAKES THIS FIRST SESSION DIFFERENT?

A standard therapy intake often feels like a checklist, history, diagnosis, next steps. My approach is different. Our first 50 minutes together are not about labeling you. They are about understanding how trauma and attachment wounds live in your body right now and beginning to map a path forward together.

You’ll leave the session with:

  • A clearer understanding of how trauma has shaped your nervous system and relationships

  • A sense of whether working together feels like a good fit

  • First steps you can begin practicing to support regulation and safety between sessions

OTHER QUESTIONS CLIENTS OFTEN ASK

Do I have to talk about everything in the first session?
No. We go at your pace. Some people say very little about the past at first. What matters is that you feel steady enough to begin.

Will therapy feel too overwhelming?
Part of my role is to help you notice what feels like too much and to slow things down. Therapy is not about pushing past your capacity, it is about creating safety so you can expand it over time.

What if I’m nervous?
That’s completely normal. Most people feel anxious starting therapy. Having the intake form, clear structure, and a therapist tracking your nervous system in real time helps ease that transition.

READY TO BEGIN?

I offer online trauma therapy for adults in California, Florida, and Israel. Sessions are 50 minutes and cost $220.

👉 Book your first session here

Taking this step is often the hardest part. If you’ve made it this far, you are already listening to the part of you that wants something different.