Your First Appointment
If you are a parent seeking counseling for your child or adolescent...
The Initial (“Intake”) Session
When possible, we prefer for the initial session to be a meeting
between the psychologist and parent(s)/guardian, without the
child or adolescent. This is done in order for the parent/guardian
to be able to “check us out” before having your child/adolescent
meet us, as well as to give you an opportunity to tell the psychologist
any information about your child/adolescent which you think is
important for the therapist to know. It also gives us a chance
to answer any questions or concerns you might have about bringing
your child to therapy. Moreover, we have found that children/adolescents
often get anxious, curious or bored while parents are filling
out the intake paperwork or speaking privately with us. We prefer
for our initial meeting with your son or daughter to be focused
more fully on spending time with them and addressing their needs.
As a result, we generally meet with the child/adolescent during
the second session. During this initial session (without your child/adolescent), the psychologist
will speak with the parent(s)/guardian about how therapy with children/adolescents
works (including how play therapy works, if appropriate for your
child). We will discuss what concerns you have about your son or
daughter that resulted in seeking therapy for him or her as well
as any attempts you or others have made to address the problem.
We will explore ways in which these interventions have been successful
or unsuccessful. We will also ask you questions about their current
life and any stressors they may be struggling with. The psychologist
will also talk with you about your son or daughter’s developmental
and mental health history, and how that might be impacting the
current situation. We will ask about any significant changes or
stressors in the family that might be affecting your son or daughter
as well.
We pride ourselves on doing a thorough assessment
which is tailored to your child. This includes asking about what
your son or daughter’s strengths and interests are, how they are
doing in school, what their social life is like, what makes them
happy and what motivates them.
You will have the opportunity to ask the psychologist
any questions you might have, as well as coveying to that counselor
any information you feel would be helpful in working with your
son or daughter. The therapist will let you know the best ways
to contact him/her, as well as what to do in case of an emergency
with your child.
Paperwork
The psychologist will also review our intake paperwork with you
(including our policies and procedures, confidentiality and its
limits, federal privacy laws, etc.). If you would like to review
and/or print and start filling out the paperwork in advance,
you may do so (most of the intake forms are on our website under
“Forms”, although there might be an additional form or two should
you decide to have our office manager submit insurance claims
for you to your insurance company). You will be able to complete
any unfinished paperwork while the psychologist is meeting with
your son/daughter during the second session.
Insurance Card and Payment
Please bring your child’s health insurance card with you for the
psychologist to copy, as well as a method of payment for the
session. We accept cash, checks, and all credit cards.
The Second Session
During the second session, the psychologist might check in briefly
with the parent or guardian at the beginning or end of the appointment,
but the bulk of the session will be spent with your child/adolescent.
The psychologist will talk with your child/adolescent about how
therapy works, as well as confidentiality and its limits. If
we are doing play therapy with your child, we will explain the
specifics about how play therapy works, too. We will do what
we can to help your child feel as comfortable as possible (including
exploring the play room and using art, games, toys, puppets,
etc. when indicated) as we get to know him or her. We will then
talk (and/or play) with your child or adolescent about why they
were referred to therapy at this time, how they feel about that,
and get their perspective and insights into the situation. We
will discuss any previous attempts at resolving the problem and
how well they worked. During this session, the therapist will
screen for major mental health symptoms which will
guide our diagnosis. We will start formulating a plan that might
work better, and talk with both you and your child/adolescent
about the next steps.
Can a Parent Be in the Room?
For very young children, we sometimes begin therapy with a parent
present in the room until that child feels secure with us. It is
our priority to create a safe, trusting environment, but our goal
is also to enhance your child’s independence over the course of
subsequent sessions. Sometimes children also find that it is easier
to discuss certain topics privately, even if they know that eventually
their parent will be filled in about them.
We might also invite one or both parents/guardians
to join us for a session if your child/adolescent requests that
or if the therapist feels it would be helpful in working with your
son or daughter. At times, a session with the parent(s)/guardian
without the child/adolescent present might also be warranted in
order to best assist your son or daughter.
Feedback to Parents/Guardians
We provide feedback to the parent(s)/guardian about how your son
or daughter is doing in therapy. However, the amount of feedback
and degree of content will vary widely depending on the age of
your child and on your child/adolescent’s comfort level with
that. Some children/adolescents will not be forthcoming in therapy
if they feel that everything they say will be told to their parents/guardians,
so we try to strike a balance between protecting their sense
of privacy and informing parents when important issues arise
in the treatment. Parents/guardians will always be promptly informed
when matters of safety are concerned.
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