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| The first session will show us the road forward |
This post is for one specific kind of person:
You’re not in crisis, but you’re not okay
either.
You’re dealing with anxiety, stress, or low mood, and you’re not sure
why it’s hitting so hard — or what to do about it.
You’re looking for real answers, not vague platitudes. You want to understand what’s going on and start feeling better.
So, our first session is focused and practical, a structured exploration of your symptoms and recent stressors, so we can work out a clear direction for therapeutic work.
Here’s what we do.
📩 Before We Begin
You email me at ellen.whyte@gmail.com.
You might write two lines or pour out three paragraphs — both are fine.
I reply, and we book a free 15-minute session.
💬 The Free 15-Minute Chat
I work online through WhatsApp, Teams, or Meet. We use this time to:
- Check the tech works
- Chat briefly about your goal
- Confirm that what you need falls within my scope
If we’re a good fit, I explain the basics:
- Confidentiality
- Record-keeping
- Billing
- Scheduling
If you're ready to proceed, we book a session and I send you the confidentiality agreement.
🧠 The First Session: Focused and Structured
If you're feeling anxious, flat, stressed, or unsure what’s wrong, this session helps us map out the problem so we can figure out what is happening.
1. Deep Background
We begin by discussing how you’re feeling and
what you want help managing.
No need to have perfect answers — you talk, I listen, and I ask questions to
gently guide the conversation.
2. Your Overall Health
Physical health affects mental health. So I ask:
- Have you been ill, injured, or in pain?
- Are you on any medication?
- When did you last see a GP?
Note: I always ask if you have had a recent checkup, just to rule out physical issues like thyroid problems, or other medical causes. Because talking doesn’t fix a wonky thyroid or boost your iron levels!
3. Life Stress Over the Past Year
Stress adds up — but we often underestimate it. Also, very often we forget events too, especially if it happened three or four months ago.
In this part of our session, we examine stress
events in detail.
This part is inspired by the Holmes & Rahe stress scale (1967). It’s not
diagnostic, and I have added to it, but it helps us:
- Look at recent events in your personal and work life
- Evaluate how much pressure you’ve been under
4. Your Support Network
We talk about who’s around you.
Not for blame — just to understand:
- Do you have people you can turn to?
- Are your key relationships steady or shaky?
This gives context and helps us plan if one of your goals is improving connection or boundaries.
5. Your Sleep Patterns
Sleep and mood are tightly linked. We explore:
- When and how you sleep
- Whether you feel rested
- What throws you off, and what might help
If sleep is a problem, we’ll likely start addressing it early.
6. How Anxiety, Stress or Depression Are Affecting You
We walk through the symptoms:
- Appetite
- Energy
- Focus
- Emotions — guilt, fear, sadness, anger
Some of this comes from the DSM checklist doctors use for depression. I don’t diagnose, you need a medical doctor for that, but I do use this to understand how your mind and body are reacting to stress.
7. Pulling It All Together
By the end of the session, we’ll have a good
overview of what’s going on — and how it’s affecting you. Then we talk about
what we can do to move forward and get you into a better space.
I’ll suggest techniques or approaches based on our findings. This is
collaborative. We tailor the therapy to fit you, not the other way around.
We’ll both be tired by this point, so we set the next session and pause there.
📄 After the Session
I email you:
- Session notes
- Your invoice
This structured, professional support is your first step towards healing.
📩 Ready to get started? Email me at ellen.whyte@gmail.com
