What to expect from your first typed therapy session

What to expect from your first typed therapy session

So, you’ve registered for typed therapy with ieso. First of all, making the choice to start therapy can be difficult, so take a moment to congratulate yourself for prioritising your mental health. Now, you might be wondering what to expect from your first session. It’s normal to be a little bit nervous, but we’re going to walk you through the steps so that you can feel as prepared as possible.

1. Join your session in the therapy room

Once you’re registered with ieso, you’ll be able to choose a date and time for your first appointment via our online booking system. Your assigned clinician will then confirm the appointment and send you some initial information.

At the time of your appointment, log into your ieso account and go to the therapy room, where your clinician will start the session.  

2. Type back and forth to your clinician

Once you’ve joined your session, you’ll have a live one-to-one conversation with your clinician. All of the communication between you and your clinician will be through written messages on our therapy website.

Your clinician will lead the session, so we recommend waiting until they’ve finished typing before you reply. To write a reply, use the text box to type what you want to say, then press the ‘send’ button.  

We know that your first session can be quite overwhelming, so don’t worry if it takes you a little while to gather your thoughts. It can be helpful to keep your responses short and to the point; if you have a lot to say, try to break it down into smaller chunks. It’s okay if your spelling and grammar isn’t perfect - all that matters is that your clinician understands what you’re saying.

3. Your clinician will make an assessment

During your first session, your clinician will want to understand how you’ve been feeling to get a better idea of your state of mind. It doesn’t happen very often, but if your clinician thinks that CBT isn’t right for you, they will make sure that you’re referred to the correct service instead.

4. Your clinician will set a task

Over the course of your therapy, your clinician will set you tasks and questionnaires to complete in between your sessions. Tasks are a really important part of CBT as they can make the therapy more effective, while questionnaires can be used to measure your progress.

Your clinician will always talk you through a task before setting it, but if you have any questions in between sessions, you can send them a message via your ieso account. All of the tasks and questionnaires that you’re set will be listed on your homepage, so they’re easy to find.

5. Book in your next appointment

Before the end of your first appointment, you will schedule your next appointment. Sessions are usually scheduled weekly or fortnightly, but you and your clinician can discuss what works best for you. When you’ve agreed on a time and date, your clinician will send you an invite to your next session, which you need to accept on your ieso homepage.

We understand that sometimes things come up, so if you’re ever unable to make a session, try to let your clinician know 48 hours beforehand so that they can reschedule.  

At ieso, we offer typed CBT for a range of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We also offer video calls in certain areas. Typed and virtual CBT can be especially useful for those who are unable to travel or find it harder to leave the house because sessions can take place from the comfort of your home, or anywhere where you connect to the internet. Appointments are also flexible, with evening slots available. Find out more about what we do.  

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